Food banks are helping build safer workplaces beyond their own walls

Food banks are helping build safer workplaces beyond their own walls

After a year of online meetings with our Nonprofit Safety Hero Cohort, we were excited to gather in person last week at the conference. We expected good conversations about volunteer engagement and keeping people safe on the job. The bigger surprise was finding out that Nonprofit Safety Hero materials are changing lives through job training.Our goal has always been to deliver free, practical resources that food banks and pantries can use to keep staff and volunteers safe. But this year, at the conference, we learned how Jose Garza of the Othello Food Bank is using Nonprofit Safety Hero courses and certificates to support community workforce training programs.

That matters. For many people in these programs, this is their first step into the workplace. Learning how to lift correctly, handle food safely, and speak up when something doesn't look right sets them up for success in whatever job comes next.

We're proud and grateful to our cohort members, pictured above, who have been creative and dedicated in putting these resources to work. Stories like these shape how we improve the materials and remind us that safety training is workforce development, too.

Take a look at the Nonprofit Safety Hero website and see what you can do for your community. It's all free and available in many formats.

Food banks are helping build safer workplaces beyond their own walls

Washington Food Coalition