Need food? Find resources in your neighborhood
Need food? Find resources in your neighborhood
Food safety is essential to protecting the health of the neighbors we serve. Proper food handling, storage, preparation and distribution help prevent foodborne illness and ensure safe, high-quality food reaches our communities.
All Second Harvest Partner Agencies are required to complete Food Safety Training. Our PowerPoint Training and Knowledge Check fulfill this requirement for agencies that operate Food Pantries, Mobile Pantries, or other programs that do not cook, prepare, or serve meals.
Food Safety Training is offered at orientation, online once per quarter, and by your Partnership Manager during monitor visits.
Agencies that prepare meals must meet different requirements. At least one staff member or volunteer must have Food Protection Manager Certification.
This person must be actively involved in, or oversee, meal preparation. The certification must be issued by an organization accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Accredited organizations are listed here:
Food Defense is the protection of food products from contamination or adulteration intended to cause public health harm or economic disruption. Second Harvest has a comprehensive risk management system to protect our food supply, promote food security, and minimize negative public health impact.
The FDA has developed Food Defense Training to educate the food industry on ways to help protect our nation’s food supply from deliberate acts of contamination or tampering.
The FSIS Food Defense Mitigation Tool identifies some countermeasures that organizations can implement, as part of a food defense plan, to better protect their organization and the people they serve.
Stay informed about food recalls and safety alerts. Second Harvest will email information about recalls that could affect food distributed by Second Harvest or grocery stores in our region.
Want to learn more? Check out these free online food safety trainings:
Second Harvest is here to help with training, guidance, and technical assistance. Email your Partnership Manager or call 615-329-3491.