We continue to remain vigilant about food safety as we continue to navigate through the pandemic. We halted accepting food donations from individuals or from food drives and are now introducing an even safer, more efficient, and cost effective way to donate food. Please go to: https://donate.placerfoodbank.org/event/donatefood
Update: We released a statement (see below) on June 26, 2020 about two staff members testing positive for COVID-19. We are pleased to announce both have made a full recovery.
Placer Food Bank and hunger relief partners are essential services, and it is critical that we remain operational while implementing the best available safety precautions. We realize exposure to COVID-19 is now ‘when’ and not ‘if’, and since we are public facing, we want to be as transparent as possible, while not adding to any fear.
Placer Food Bank was notified Friday, June 26, 2020 that one worker tested positive for COVID-19, and another tested positive July 2, 2020. Since the initial positive case, we’ve taken swift action in thoroughly sanitizing all spaces and tested potentially exposed employees June 29, 2020. We have notified our partners at Feeding America and remain in communication with them. We are continuing to follow CDC recommendations as it relates to sanitizing, face coverings and physical distancing.
It’s important to note that Placer Food Bank has followed CDC guidelines since March 2020 for physical distancing, daily temperature checks on premises and all workers/volunteers wear face coverings and gloves. We will remain operational, while remaining vigilant about safety precautions.
Cleaning and disinfecting:
When a confirmed case occurs, the space where the person was will be thoroughly sanitized and we are following CDC recommended standards for cleaning and disinfecting. People who closely encountered the individual will be notified.
Additional information:
Food is not known to transmit coronavirus. According to a recent statement released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “We are not aware of any reports at this time of human illnesses that suggest COVID-19 can be transmitted by food or food packaging.” Like other viruses, it is possible that the virus that causes COVID-19 can survive on surfaces or objects. For that reason, it is critical to follow the 4 key steps of food safety—clean, separate, cook and chill.
Safety measures for volunteers, visitors and staff
- We are following CDC recommended sterilization procedures and have increased the frequency of cleaning and disinfecting, especially around high-traffic areas (volunteer areas, meeting rooms, bathrooms, food areas).
- Staff are required to wash hands before their shift starts, during breaks, when they switch projects, and after their shift. We are also taking temperatures upon arrival.
- Staff are practicing a ‘wash in, wash out’ method. This means staff are required to clean their work stations, warehouse equipment and work vehicles, before and after each use. Gloves are also available for warehouse projects.
- We are increasing handwashing frequency and have placed hand sanitizer stations throughout the warehouse.
- We have made adjustments to work schedules by implementing work from home policies and rotational shifts to further protect the health and safety of our employees and partners.
- We continue to encourage anyone who feels unwell to stay home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Placer Food Bank is committed to the safety of our staff, volunteers, and visitors. We are taking the following proactive steps to help reduce contact and/or spread of the Coronavirus.
The following guidelines are being followed as a precaution:
- Regularly scheduled sanitation cleaning by a professional service inside the warehouse, restroom and staff offices.
- Daily temperature checks of staff and volunteers before entering warehouse or offices while working on-site.
- Mandatory mask wearing of all on-site staff, volunteers, professional associates.
- Practice social distancing in the warehouse and offices.
- Mandatory wiping down with disinfectant inside cabins of our delivery vehicles before and after loading and delivering.
- Providing gloves to all staff and volunteers handling food at our warehouse.
- Making hand sanitizers available throughout our warehouse.
- Increasing the visibility and importance of hand washing in the restrooms and throughout the facility.
- Recommending people avoid touching their eyes, nose, mouth with unwashed hands.
- Mandating that staff, volunteers, clients stay away from work, school or other people if they become sick with respiratory symptoms such as fever and cough or fever.
For more information on Coronavirus, please visit the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website and the California Department of Public Health website. Both websites are updated daily with the latest information and advice for the public.
Yes, but we are adjusting our sourcing and distribution practices to keep food flowing throughout our hunger-relief partner network to ensure that nutritious food reaches communities that need it most. The health and safety of our community is our top priority. We are in the process of evaluating our volunteer and staffing needs to meet the needs of local food assistance sites. We expect to adjust to the changes, as needed.
Currently, Placer Food Bank is still open and continuing our operations as normal. Office hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00am to 4:00pm. Warehouse hours: Monday - Friday, 6:00am – 2:00pm.
Our administrative office and warehouse is located at 8284 Industrial Ave., Roseville, Ca 95678, 916.783.0481, info@placerfoodbank.org. If you come to our administrative office, please knock on the front door. We are keeping it locked at this time to protect staff and volunteers.
Yes, Placer Food Bank is still accepting volunteers. We rely heavily on individuals and volunteer groups to help us in our warehouse and at food distribution sites. Please inquire about individual or group volunteer shifts by going to volunteer@placerfoodbank.org. We are allowing volunteers over the age of 18 and under the age of 64, who are deemed healthy and at low risk. We are not accepting any volunteers under the age of 18 at this time. We are carefully vetting all volunteers before they enter the warehouse or help during our drive-through Farmer’s Market distribution sites through temperature checks. If any volunteer has a fever, or is experiencing upper respiratory symptoms, we will not allow them to volunteer until they are symptom free.
No, Placer Food Bank is not closing any of our food distribution sites due at this time. With the fluid situation we’re in, this could be subject to change.
Since COVID-19, struck, we became ever-more vigilant about food safety and halted food drives. We have since created a safe, efficient and cost effective way to still donate food through our online fund+food donation platform. Check it out at: https://donate.placerfoodbank.org/event/donatefood/
FUNDS are needed to help support those in need of food assistance during this challenging time. As a Feeding America Food Bank, and the leading hunger-relief regional food bank, we benefit from our retail partners (Raley’s Food for Families, Walmart, SaveMart, USDA to name a few) to safely supply non-perishable and perishable food items that we store and distribute from our 30,000 square foot warehouse in Roseville.
While we appreciate receiving food donations from individuals and food drives, due to the unprecedented situation with COVID-19, and to ensure the highest food safety standards for our community, we are asking for monetary donations at this critical time to purchase the most needed items and not encouraging community food drives. Funds we receive will help us gain access to even more people who don’t normally use our services, in addition to those who do. Donations can be made by going to placerfoodbank.org and click on Donate. Another way to help is to consider hosting a virtual fund drive to share your passion for Placer Food Bank and our mission.
While we appreciate receiving financial donation support regularly from grants, individual, community, and corporate donors, we are anticipating an unprecedented amount of people from all walks of life, all income levels, needing food assistance because of lost income and the uncertainty when re-employment may occur. Therefore, its imperative we make a financial plea to our community to help those in need.
The Placer Food Bank distributes food to more than 90,000 individuals a month in El Dorado, Nevada, and Placer counties. We do this in partnership with more than 60 nonprofit agency partners ranging from food pantries to soup kitchens. If you or someone you know is in need of food assistance, please visit placerfoodbank.org, click on “Get Food Assistance” for a list of available agency distributions throughout El Dorado, Nevada, and Placer Counties.
About Placer Food Bank
Placer Food bank, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, is the leading hunger-relief charity in El Dorado, Nevada and Placer Counties. They serve as the primary food collection and distribution center for hunger-relief efforts in the area -- distributing fresh and non-perishable food to the hungry through its network of 70 local hunger-relief and charitable organizations.
Placer Food Bank is a member of the California Association of Food Banks, and is the only local hunger-relief organization, and one of only 200 food banks nationwide, to be a certified member of Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief organization.
Placer Food Bank’s mission is to sustain communities by nourishing families experiencing food insecurity, education the community about hunger, while advocating for hunger relief.
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