TABLE’s Good Food Values Policy

Objective: To guide TABLE’s food purchasing decisions (namely, fresh food) and to provide accountability in ensuring that our core beliefs and values are carried out throughout our organization.

Overview: 

TABLE’s staff established organizational core values in 2021. One of these is People: We prioritize people above all else, valuing those who serve and are served by TABLE, treating them with kindness, dignity, and respect.

We value people, and this stretches across every aspect of our organization. With that in mind, we wish to incorporate that into our food purchasing. We spend thousands of dollars per week on food and make quite an impact with our dollars. We are not only impacting the kids and families we serve, but the (local) economy, workers, and the environment. By establishing Good Food Values, we can be intentional about where our dollars go and TABLE’s broader impact.

We value existing relationships with food suppliers who are so vital to our work, and we will not abruptly change any current partnerships. This policy is to be used not to eliminate anyone, but to determine how we should expand or make future decisions with intentionality as we expand and need a greater quantity of food weekly. We also need to remain fiscally minded as we want to operate sustainably for years to come, and so we balance more expensive local food or organic items with less expensive non-local alternatives, as needed.

Our Good Food Values:

The following are TABLE’s priorities when procuring food for children and families in our community. These are our ideals, and we are always working to improve upon our capacity to meet these.

• Prioritize families’ needs and wishes in food distribution decisions (ex. types/quantity of food, providing culturally relevant foods, giving options when possible)
• Prioritize good quality food for our kids (ex. Note expired/dented/bruised, nutrition standards, and organic when affordable)
• Prioritize small/mid-sized local farms for fresh food when possible. (ex. As we grow, we seek to purchase additional food from local (NC), BIPOC- or woman-owned farms rather than international sources. We are grateful for deep, people-oriented relationships at local farms. As we grow in our number of kids/food demands beyond what our current farm partners can provide, we may need to bring on additional NC farm partners who meet our Good Food Values.)
• Prioritize fair & stable wages for farms, farmers, and laborers
• Prioritize healthy & sustainable environmental practices