About The Library
Welcome to the Hunger Free Communities Network’s online resource library! This ever growing database serves as a one-stop shop and home base for anti-hunger organizers featuring toolkits, case studies, research, online tools, community plans and other resources generated by the Alliance to End Hunger, our national partners and hunger free community coalitions across the country.
This is a user-driven tool, so feel free to rate resources and leave a comment! Also, please submit your own resources, so we can share your good ideas with others.
How To Search The Library
- Keyword Search: To run a keyword search, simply type the word(s) or phrase(s) you’re looking for into the box on the top right of the page (e.g. USDA, child hunger) and click “submit.”
- Category Search: To run a category search, use the drop-down menus to the right of the page under the heading “Resource Library Search” to select your desired search topic(s) and click “submit”. This search will yield more results if you limit your selections to one drop-down menu (e.g. “Content Type” or “Activity”). For an explanation of the categories, please click the orange “?” symbol next to the heading for each drop-down menu.
When the search results appear, click on the title of the resource for a more detailed description of that resource. There you’ll be able to directly access the resource.
Featured Resources
The Self-Assessment Workbook (SAW): The goal of the SAW is to assist a HFC coalition in determining for itself the critical elements for effective organizational management and network functioning and to identify those areas in need of strengthening or further development. The SAW is designed to enable organizational learning, foster team sharing, and encourage reflective self-assessment within an anti-hunger coalition. It can be used for strategic planning, evaluation and building group cohesion.
The Advocacy Playbook: The Advocacy Playbook is the Alliance to End Hunger’s signature advocacy toolkit and resource. It helps make the case for why advocacy a good idea and provides guidance on how your coalition or organization can help the cause.
Toolkit for Developing and Strengthening Hunger Free Community Coalitions: This provides a step-by-step guide for building coalitions, plus it gives best practices examples from the field, ideas for implementation, and practical tools. We hope it serves as a jumping off point for your local community’s efforts to find a solution to food insecurity.
Farm to Family: Increasing Access to Affordable Fruits and Vegetables Among Urban Head Start Families
By Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition
Childhood obesity is the result of complex, multifaceted factors, and its prevention requires a comprehensive approach across home, school, and community environments. Child care settings, including preschools, provide an important opportunity for prevention efforts. The purpose of this article is to describe an innovative Farm to Preschool model called Farm to Family (F2F), program that facilitates access to affordable produce...
Read MoreCommunity Supported Agriculture for the Workplace – A Guide for Developing Workplace Community Supported Agriculture Distributions
By Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture
This manual is a helpful guide for organizations that are interested in developing and implementing a Workplace CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). The goal of the Workplace CSA program highlighted in this resource is to build and strengthen direct marketing opportunities for farmers in the three counties served in western Massachusetts. Workplace CSAs represent a partnership...
Read MoreFarmers’ Market Manual
“Farmers’ Market Manual” is a guide on how to effectively run and manage a farmers’ market. Every aspect of running a market is addressed, including: planning, outreach and education, operationsand evaluation. Each of these four sections is broken down further into subsections. For example “Planning” includes market permits and equipment and supplies. “Operations” includes produce...
Read MoreUrban Grower’s Manual
“Urban Grower’s Manual” is a guide to urban agriculture. It depicts how to work with and inspire diverse groups of people who contribute their time and effort to urban lots. It also explains how to plan for, plant, harvest and distribute produce from a city-size farm. The manual is divided into five sections, which break...
Read MoreRural Grower’s Manual
“Rural Grower’s Manual” exists to assist the rural grower in managing the farm effectively while engaging the youth and volunteers in productive farm work. The first section, “Food Project Agriculture,” describes the practices that reflect the proper stewardship to the land. The second section, “Working with People and The Land,” describes the systems that integrate...
Read MoreVolunteer Program Manual
The “Volunteer Program Manual” is designed to help volunteer coordinators utilize volunteers effectively on a farm or community garden. This manual provides a thorough example of how one organization has incorporated volunteers into the work in the field. The model is broken down into recruiting volunteers, operations, motivation techniques, follow-up and evaluation. A list of...
Read MoreGrow, Cook, Teach! A Resource Guide for Farm to School Activities
By Massachusetts Farm to School Project
“Grow, Cook Teach!” contains basic information about many programs and organizations that are defining and expanding the farm to school concept. Whether you are interested in learning about funding sources for school gardens, after-school cooking classes showcasing local produce, or ways to teach students about what’s growing on the farm, you’ll find useful references here.
Read MoreGoing Local- Paths to Success for Farm to School Programs
By Center for Food & Justice / Community Food Security Coalition / National Farm to School Program
“Going Local” showcases innovative farm to school programs from around the country. Case studies highlight program operations and accomplishments as well as the barriers that have been faced and the tactics used to overcome these challenges. With case studies from California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Oregon, the publication provides a...
Read MoreAcademic Year Program Manual
“Academic Year Program Manual” describes the Academic Year Program in great detail and provides guidance and motivation to leaders who wishes to organize similar programs. The Academic Year Program connects young people to their food and their communities through working on the land, growing vegetables, speaking to others about their experience, leading volunteers, etc. The...
Read MoreHunger and Homelessness Survey
By The United States Conference of Mayors
This report presents the results of a survey of the 27 cities that comprise The U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness. Respondents were asked to provide information on emergency food assistance and homeless services provided between October 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009. Cities included in the survey were: Boston-MA, Charleston-SC,...
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