Become a Partner Agency

Thank you for your interest in establishing a food program with the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano. The mission of the Food Bank is to provide nutritious food to all those in need through our own efforts and those of our more than 180 partner agencies in Contra Costa and Solano counties.

As a member of Feeding America, the nation’s largest non-governmental, domestic hunger relief organization, the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano is a part of a national network that provides food to people in need and upholds the highest standards of charitable food distribution. The Food Bank and our partner agencies follow the guidelines established by this national network and are subject to regular compliance monitoring. We operate on a membership basis requiring a one-time $50 membership fee.

Steps to Becoming a Partner Agency

• Review the Partner Agency Eligibility Requirements below to determine if your agency is eligible to become a new partner.
• If you believe you meet all of the mandatory eligibility requirements, complete the new agency interest form so that we can learn more about your organization. Please note, we do not accept new agency inquiries during the months of October, November, or December.
• Wait to hear back from the agency relations team. (You will be contacted within 7 business days).
• Provide agency relations team with paperwork proving your ability to meet each of the eligibility requirements. We must receive all paperwork prior to scheduling a site visit.
• Schedule a site visit with an Agency Relations team member so that we can determine if your agency meets our food safety standards.

Partnership Eligibility

An agency must meet the following criteria to be eligible for partnership with the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano.

1. Must be a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization.
2. May not be a private foundation, even if it has 501(c) (3) exemption.
3. Must have a Board of Directors, governing body, or formal advisory group that establishes procedures for the operation of the food assistance program including budgeting.
4. Must have an established food program or pantry that has operated for a minimum of 3 months.
5. Must distribute food at least twice per month.
6. Must intend to serve at least 50 clients at each distribution.
7. Must distribute donated products free of charge to low-income and food-insecure individuals and must not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, age, marital status, political affiliation, disability, sexual orientation,           medical condition, or national origin.
8. Must be willing and able to provide food without requiring the recipient to pay, pray, or work in order to receive food. No religious activities may take place at any time during the food distribution including optional prayer.
9. May not sell or use donated products in exchange for money, other property, or services.
10. May not redistribute food or products to other food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, or other charitable groups or organizations.
11. Must have an interest in providing balanced and nutritious bags/meals, promoting client choice (allowing clients to select all or some of their food from what is available as opposed to handing out pre-made bags), and offering CalFresh (food stamp) pre-screening and application assistance.
12. Must have a clean building with pest control.
13. Must have workers with proper food safety training and certification. Pantries are required to have at least one staff member/volunteer with a Food Handlers certificate and soup kitchens are required to have at least one staff member/volunteer with a Food Manager certificate. Companies offering certified food safety courses include ServSafe, Premierfoodsafety, and Prometric. Soup kitchens (agencies preparing and serving meals) must also have a current county health permit.
14. Must have strong volunteer support to help with food pick-up, client registration, and food distribution. Agencies should have a minimum of 5 volunteers present at each food distribution as well as additional volunteers to help with other duties such as food ordering and pick-up. Agencies pick up food at various pick-up locations throughout Contra Costa and Solano. The Food Bank does not deliver food directly to partner agencies.
15. Residential Programs (group homes, drug and alcohol rehabilitation homes etc.) must be registered with either Community Care Licensing or Regional Center of the East Bay. ***Residential programs do not need to meet the requirement of serving 50 individuals at each food distribution, but must distribute food to residents at least twice per month.***