Addressing Food Insecurity Through Staff Development

Food insecurity is an issue in Santa Cruz County. Second Harvest Food Bank (SHFB) organizes a Holiday Food and Fund Drive (HFFD) that helps provide families and individuals with nutritious food. The HFFD procedure manual was created to help enhance time management and ensure employees are prepared to improve the conditions of those struggling with food insecurity within the county. The manual was part of training for the new employees and was a refresher for veteran staff. After each use, a survey was completed to see if the manual had the needed information and gave employees the opportunity to leave feedback. The results of the project showed that having a manual as a reference was effective. Staff were able to plan presentations for the community and use their time to most potential. A couple recommendations for SHFB are to hire a Volunteer Engagement Program Manager and to continuously keep using the procedure manual for future food drives. Through this, Santa Cruz County will have the resources needed to help fight hunger