Partner Agency Interest Form

Partner Agency Interest Form
Second Harvest Heartland Agency Partnership: Pre-Qualifier

Thank you for your interest in partnering with Second Harvest Heartland (SHH). Our mission is to end hunger with community partnerships. To that end, we seek to partner with programs that are also working to end hunger in their own communities.

What is a food bank and why partner with Second Harvest?

Second Harvest is a hunger relief organization the provides food to food shelves, soup kitchens, shelter and other hunger relief programs at reduced cost. We rely on community partners to provide food to neighbors experiencing hunger. This brings us to our mission: to end hunger through community partnerships.

Important considerations:

Please use the following guide to determine whether your organization may be eligible for partnership. We cannot guarantee partnership based on this information only, nor does meeting qualifications guarantee partnership.

Programs that we are seeking partnership with include those filling unmet gaps in the community, food shelves, community meals, produce distributions, emergency shelters and agencies serving high need populations. We are not accepting applications for one-time holiday meals/distributions, group homes, rehabilitation facilities, residential treatment centers or other non-emergency programs.

For more complete guidance on partnership requirements for agencies and Second Harvest Heartland, please review our minimum criteria for partnership and all requirements in our Partnership Agreement https://agencies.2harvest.org/partnership For additional questions, contact Second Harvest Heartland Agency Relations at 651-209-7922 or agencies@2harvest.org.

Organizations interested in Partnership must meet the following minimum criteria:

1. Have and maintain 501c3 status with the Internal Revenue Service or meet the criteria of a religious organization as defined by the IRS https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/churches-religious-organizations/churches-defined) and incorporated for the purpose of serving the ill, the needy, or infants. Evidence of status must be provided to SHH. The Agency cannot be a private foundation or a municipality. 501c3 is not the same as state sales tax exemption. Mosques, synagogues, churches and other religious organizations generally meet this qualification as a religious organization. If you have questions about your tax-exempt status contact the IRS Tax Exempt and Government Entities Customer Account Services at 877.829.5500

2. Must not distribute food/products in exchange for money, property or services, i.e. client cannot be charged a fee or asked for a donation for the food, food cannot be sold as a fundraiser, etc.

3. A majority of the program’s beneficiaries are low income (based on Federal Poverty Guidelines) or in crisis. Click here for June 2021 - July 2022 guidelines. This should be determined by self-declaration on client intake forms or annual client surveys.

4. In the interest of keeping clients healthy and safe agencies must maintain adequate cold and dry storage space to ensure the integrity of the food/product until it is used and/or distributed. Food storage and service cannot be located in a staff/volunteer’s personal residence.

5. Will have at least one staff or volunteer complete Food Safety training approved by Second Harvest Heartland and will share best practices on Food Safety with other staff and volunteers. Food safety requirements vary by type of program you can find more information here: http://agencies.2harvest.org/resources/foodsafety/. Other trainings such as Civil Rights Training and Introduction to Partnership must also be completed.

6. Will have an active Board of Directors and will strive to abide by the standards for governance stated in Principles and Practices for NonProfit Excellence from the MN Council of Non-Profits.

7. As part of our consideration for partnership we include an organization’s history, track record, the media they publish and their evaluation by other third-party groups such as local health departments, USDA, Charity Navigator, and the Southern Poverty Law Group among others. Partnership with SHH requires that organizations will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistant program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the USDA.

8. Will not use food programs to foster or advance religious or political views by expecting clients to participate in political or religious events or activities in order to receive food.

9. Will provide a specific and continuous food programming to the community in the form of meals or groceries to clients. In general, continuous programming means actively serving food 9-12 months of the year with exception for summer produce distributions. Meal programs should provide services at least once per week. Food Shelves and grocery distributions should provide service at least once per month. Preference will be given to programs with service hours that best accommodate client schedules such as more frequent weekly hours, and/or hosting evening or weekend hours. Preference will also be given to programs that have been in operation for 6 months or more.

10. A probationary period of 6 months applies to new partners. Those that fail to consistently meet one or more of Second Harvest’s partnership requirements as outlined in this pre-qualifier or the Partnership Agreement may have partnership revoked by Second Harvest.
Instructions: Please include as much detail as possible in answer to the questions below. We will use this information to determine which programs will be invited to submit an application.
Today's Date

MonthDayYear
Date
Name of Organization:*
Mailing Address*

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState / Province

Postal / Zip Code
Site Address (where are you providing food or meals?)*

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState / Province

Postal / Zip Code
Primary Contact Name*

First NameLast Name
Primary Contact Email*
example@example.com
Phone Number*

Area CodePhone Number
Organization Website/Facebook:
Does your organization have a 501c3 non-profit status or are you a faith-based organization?*
Please enter your EIN Number or the EIN number of the faith-based organization. *
Does your food program have a current and active Board of Directors or advisory council?*
How many members are on your board of directors and how often do they meet? (Please answer both questions)*
The following questions are about your food program only. Please think about your Food Program, not other services as you answer these questions.
Food Program Type (choose only one). NOTE: We are not accepting new partnerships for temporary programs, one-time distributions, group homes, rehabilitation facilities, residential treatment centers, fundraisers, or holiday-only giveaways.*

Food Shelf/Mobile Food ShelfFood DistributionCommunity MealProduce DistributionShelterBackpack ProgramSchool/College Food Shelf
Mission Statement, vision or goals for Food Program:*
How many months/years has your Food Program been in operation?*
Total number of people available to work in the Food Program (either staff or volunteers): *
Second Harvest Heartland charges a shared maintenance fee on most of the donated products, and some items are only available for purchase. What is your monthly food budget?*
What is your main source of funding for your Food Program? Please describe. *
Are donations or fees requested or accepted from participants during your Food Program's food distribution/meals? *
Days and Hours of Service of the Food Program:*
Number of Clients Served Monthly in your Food Program:*
Eligibility Requirements for Service for your Food Program: *
Geographic Area that you Serve with your Food Program: *
The hunger relief network and your community.
Please list the food assistance or social service programs in your area. Second Harvest Heartland currently partners with hundreds of hunger relief programs in Central and Southwestern MN and Western WI. We want to respect their work and avoid duplication of services while addressing all the needs of a community or neighborhood. *
Please describe how you've engaged with, or what you've learned or collaborated on with the food assistance or social service programs in your service area.*
As a reminder, this form is NOT an official partner application or a guarantee of partnership with the food bank.

Partner Agency Interest Forms are reviewed twice a year by Agency Relations staff in April and November. Agency Relations will consider reviewing new partnership applications sooner for produce distributions and/or if there is significant community need or service gap to be filled.

2022 Partnership Review Timeline

Period 1 – Spring

·        Partner Agency Interest form deadline April 1st

·        SHH will notify you of status of your inquiry by April 30th

Period 2 – Fall

·        Partner Agency Interest form deadline October 1st

·        SHH will notify you of status of your inquiry by October 31st

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Second Harvest Heartland Agency Relations at agencies@2harvest.org.
Should be Empty:

Partner Agency Interest Form

The following questions are about your food program only. Please think about your Food Program, not other services as you answer these questions.

The hunger relief network and your community.