FFFC Launches Flagstaff Agency Market

One of the things I’m most proud of at Flagstaff Family Food Center is the network of nonprofit partners who work alongside us every day. These are community organizations that many of you know who show up for our neighbors when they need them most.

For years, those partners have come through our doors on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons to select food for their clients. Doing their best in a busy, active warehouse environment. They made it work, because that’s what they do.

But we’ve always believed we can do better for them. And now, we can.

Introducing ‘The FAM’

Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of an anonymous donor, we’ve transformed a portion of the building next to our main warehouse and created the Flagstaff Agency Market (FAM). A dedicated, 2,837-square-foot space where our agency partners can “shop” for the items their clients need.

It’s organized, it’s calm, and it’s theirs.

Jason Ibe, our Partner Services Coordinator, says the reaction from our partners has been positive.

“Before they were just coming to a giant warehouse, and it could be a little chaotic,” he said. “This definitely feels more like a corner store grocery store. It’s more fluid in terms of efficiency.”

The new space is allowing us to gradually increase access to our partner agencies. The first phase of that expanded increased begins on May 26,  when agency shopping hours will go from two to three days a week (10 am to 1 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays). Partners also can now hold standing appointments, ending the previous cycle of scheduling each visit individually. For busy nonprofits juggling a dozen priorities, that kind of reliability makes a real difference.

Choice is the Point

The amount of food distributed to agency partners fluctuates from year to year, depending on need and the number of agencies working with us. But the amount of food distributed is only part of the story.

Our recently released Food Equity Report made something clear that we feel deeply. One of the most powerful ways to fight food insecurity is to give people genuine choice. Food has to fit someone’s life – their health, their circumstances, their kitchen. A perishable item handed to someone without refrigeration isn’t help; it’s a missed opportunity. That principle extends to the agencies we serve.

In the same building as the FAM is an enhanced food sorting area. This means agencies arrive to find products already pulled, organized, and ready – and with a greater variety to choose from.

The agency shopping program is open to eligible Feeding America Agency Partners. Over the course of a year, we expect approximately 30 agency partners from across northern Arizona to use the Flagstaff Agency Market.

Because they can rely on us, agency partners don’t have to use their limited resources to provide food, freeing up funds so they can further their missions.

“It’s one of my favorite things about this program,” said Ceara. “It lets us support local nonprofits in their work.”

The word about The FAM has gotten out pretty quickly. In fact, last month – the first month in which The FAM was formally open, we distributed 200% more food to our agency partners than the same month last year.