PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles Food Bank has launched a new “grocery store” model for distribution, a move that its director said adds respect and dignity to the process and allows people to take only the items they will actually use.
The new distribution system was implemented last Wednesday and so far the reviews have been mostly positive, said Director Emily Dexter.
“For the most part, I think clients are happy,” she said. “We’re getting good responses.”
Before clients were told how much of a certain type of item they could have and volunteers would then pull items from shelves and hand them the items.
Now clients are provided a certain number of points — a number that is still being worked out — so that they can shop for the items they want. They can pull items off the shelf, read the labels and make decisions about how much they need.
The number of points each person has is based on the size of their household, she said. As they go through distribution they keep track of their points on a worksheet that they hand to volunteers during checkout.
Dexter said more points might be added as the food bank evaluates the new system, but said the food bank needs to be careful because it goes through about 60,000 pounds of food each month, an amount that varies.
Port Angeles Food Bank volunteer Lori Jacobs stocks shelves at the food bank prior to distribution Monday. (Jesse Major/Peninsula Daily News)
“We don’t have an unlimited source of food,” she said. “We don’t qualify people based on how much they make, so it’s hard to know how much we’re going to go through.”
Dexter said that this model provides more respect and dignity for clients and that by having them select their own items it is likely to lead to less waste.
“Individuals felt empowered in making their own choices, and it was clear at checkout they made healthy ones,” Dexter said. “We saw people reading labels, and selecting food their families will eat, in portion sizes that make sense so there is little waste.”
Sandra Gowdy, a longtime client of the food bank, said Monday that though there’s a lot to get used to she thought the changes were good.
A sign shows that canned vegetables cost Port Angeles Food Bank clients 2 points. Each client is assigned points that they can use on the items that they want. (Jesse Major/Peninsula Daily News)
Gowdy said that she appreciated that it felt more like a grocery store and how helpful volunteers were Monday.
“At first I thought it was going to be a little bit confusing, but once we started going through the line the gal was helpful in explaining everything,” Gowdy said. “It has more like a grocery store feeling and you have the opportunity to get what you want to get.”
She said she received about the same amount of food as usual and was able to get a good variety.
Gowdy said her one suggestion to improve flow during distribution would be to add one more checker, something Dexter said she was already considering.
At checkout, clients’ groceries were bagged using cloth bags that were donated by Bags Go Green in Carlsborg.
Dexter said that as part of the transition the food bank will no longer be providing boxes of food for homeless people. Instead it will allow them to come in once a week and “shop” for themselves or have someone do so for them.
“We were just deciding what they got,” Dexter said. “We thought if they could just come in and shop for themselves, then they can take what they want and need.
“Then we don’t have to do box prep and they can pick what they need.”
Volunteers stock the shelves at the Port Angeles Food Bank on Monday before distribution. (Jesse Major/Peninsula Daily News)
She said the new distribution system is based on a model that is growing in popularity. She visited other food banks that operate like grocery stores before making the switch, she said.
The Port Angeles Food Bank, 402 S. Valley St., is open for distribution Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Donations can be dropped off every weekday from 9 a.m. to noon.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
