Working with Food Pantries

Explore each category for resources related to each topic area. Check back for ongoing updates.

Menu of Options for SNAP-Ed Providers

The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of the variety of ways a SNAP-Ed provider could support a food pantry partner. It is designed to be shared directly with food pantry staff to help familiarize them with the work of SNAP-Ed, organized within the document as “Appetizers”, “Main Courses”, and “Desserts”. It was created by the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) Food Assistance team.

Washington Food Coalition

A state coalition of emergency food providers, governed and directed by people in the trenches, representing all areas of the state. Gathering strength through peers, organizing to find common goals, bringing our shared values together to create a strong collective voice of the emergency food system. Website includes resources for nutrition policies, food sourcing, and other key food banking topics.

Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA)

The Washington State Department of Agriculture hosts several state- and federally funded food access, farm-to- food bank, and commodity sourcing programs that support food banks statewide.

Feeding America

The Feeding America network is the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization. In Washington State, Feeding America partners include food bank distributors Second Harvest and Food Lifeline.

Northwest Harvest

Northwest Harvest is a regional food bank distribution and anti-hunger advocacy organization.

Anti-Hunger and Nutrition Coalition

A statewide coalition of organizations and individuals committed to ending hunger and fighting poverty in Washington State. The Coalition brings the voices of hungry Washingtonians to our policymakers to ensure that public policy leads our response to hunger in our state of plenty.

Anti-Racism Assessment Tool for Food Banks

The Anti-Racist Assessment Tool for Food Banks offers an accurate way to personally assess where your food bank, pantry, or other organization is in your anti-racism journey while also creating a path forward to where you want to be. This assessment comes from our Community Perspectives Report and recommendations. This tool was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of the REACH (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) grant.

Sharing Power, Building Community

A new report that discusses what works in nutrition education at food pantries/banks and how these programs can best fit the needs of customers by nourishing bodies, building community, leveraging assets, and redistributing power.

SNAP-Ed Provider Cultural Foods Resources Page

SNAP-Ed Provider resource page for identifying and increasing access to cultural foods in a variety of education settings.

Northwest Harvest Community Perspectives Report

Funded through a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant supporting Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) and in partnership with Public Health–Seattle & King County, Northwest Harvest engaged in strategies to address nutrition, specifically to improve access to and affordability of culturally-relevant foods. This report includes a survey of the current landscape of food availability in the study areas and input from community members to better understand the unique needs of the focus populations as the starting point for defining strategies to improve access to culturally relevant foods. There are also guides for new food bank visitors (in 14 languages) and videos in Arabic, Dari, English, French, and Swahili at the link below.

Food Bank of the Rockies Culturally Responsive Foods

Community-based research led by Food Bank of the Rockies to identify preferred foods by culture and strategies for increasing food sourcing of these foods.

Washington Food Coalition Nutrition Policy Guidelines

Summary documents of Washington Food Coalition’s commitment to sourcing nutrient-dense and culturally representative foods to food bank partners statewide.

Example Nutrition Policies

View examples of Washington State partners who have implemented Nutrition Policies with their organization.

Washington State Nutrition Policy Evaluation

March 2025 Webinar

Washington Department of Ecology Report: The Last Mile – Analyzing Barriers and Best Practices in Washington’s Grocery Food Rescue System

The report, a capstone collaboration between Ecology’s Solid Waste Management Department and students from the University of Washington’s Evans School, examines the relationships between grocery stores and the state’s many organizations working to improve food security.

Center for Science in the Public Interest Report: Healthier Food Donation Guidelines for Retailers and Distributors

Supporting Wellness at Pantries (SWAP) Toolkit

Healthy Eating Research Nutrition Guidelines for the Charitable Food System

Washington State Department of Agriculture Food Purchasing Resources