Skip to main menu Skip to main content Skip to footer content
Back to News
  • News

Idaho Foodbank – Coronavirus News for Community Partners

Foodbank Services

Foodbank Services

Coronavirus Response

Updated 05-05-2020

Recent Partner Agency Communications

COVID-19 Flyer from St. Lukes

CDC MASK RECOMMENDATIONS:

As of April 4th the CDC recommended wearing cloth face coverings in public settings; especially when social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) and in areas of significant community-based transmission. The goal is to reduce the risk of spreading the virus among people in close proximity—through speaking, coughing, or sneezing—even if those individuals are not exhibiting symptoms.

View and Download the PDF Version

Important Update 3-25-2020 The Idaho Foodbank and your organization are considered an essential service and vital to providing food. Therefore we are exempt from Governor Little’s Statewide Stay-At-Home Order. Your facility can remain open. In addition, your volunteers are considered essential personnel.

Please keep your social distancing procedures in place and encourage healthy, low-risk individuals to volunteer. Please keep up your cleaning practices as well.

Read the Governor’s News Release on the Stay at Home Emergency Declaration

Read the newsletter sent to Community Partners

Update 3-19-2020 – Newsletter sent to Community Partners

The safety and wellbeing of our clients, volunteers and staff is always our top priority as we fulfill the mission to feed, educate and advocate for Idaho’s hungry. As such, we are following up on the COVID-19 communication we sent you last week with updated information and practices to consider.

We have formed an internal task force within The Idaho Foodbank to strengthen our response plan and to ensure we share with you relevant, current and factual information so you can be prepared to serve your local communities. We will continue to keep you updated on new information here.

We are getting up-to-date information and guidelines from Feeding America and several other national sources who are closely monitoring the situation. We are also in touch with State and District Public Health officials to ensure we are compliant with local standards and protocol. At this time, other than an increased focus on cleaning and sanitation, no change in IFB’s programs, services or operations are required, and we believe that is true for our network of partners, too. However, we strongly encourage you to be aware of local information from your Public Health resources.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports COVID-19 is generally spread person-to-person through respiratory droplets from sneezing, coughing and talking. According to the CDC and other food safety experts, there is currently no evidence that indicates the transmission of the virus by food or food packaging.

The Idaho Foodbank is currently not experiencing shortages of food donations or interruptions in our channels to obtain food. We are exploring alternatives for food resourcing and distribution so we can be prepared if this situation changes. We will continue to keep you posted.

Recommended Resources:  

Actions to consider:

  • For social distancing, agencies and mobile pantry sites can consider having only 1 representative from each household line up for food to decrease the number of people and interactions in line. Other family members should wait in their cars or outside in the parking lots away from others.
  • Schedule appointments for food distribution to individuals to limit the number of people congregating at a pantry site.
  • Consider “to go boxes” / meals-to-go with disposable service-ware if applicable.
  • Host “drive-through” mobile pantries where residents drive a vehicle through a distribution line. (You may want to alert local law enforcement to ensure that proper traffic control is available if needed.)

Give extra attention to cleaning:

  • Post signage regarding hygiene practices.
  • Clean and disinfect communal surfaces and personal workspaces on a consistent basis using a regular household cleaning spray or sanitizing wipe.
  • Use gloves when handling food and serving clients.

Thank you for your tireless service to your clients and communities. We are committed to keeping you informed and supporting your needs as we meet the challenges imposed by this virus.

USEFUL PDF  DOCUMENTS – ENGLISH

USEFUL PDF  DOCUMENTS – SPANISH