Building Dignity into the Food Assistance Experience

 Repeatedly answering personal questions about income, disability, or immigration status can feel invasive and retraumatizing, particularly for those already navigating complicated systems.  

Recognizing this, the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank used a grant from the Bloomberg American Health Initiative to develop an innovative tool designed to make the process of seeking food assistance more dignified, supportive, and trauma-informed. Their new integrated screening form integrates eligibility questions for all food programming into one single  online form, allowing staff to assist community members more quickly and with less emotional strain. It also provides information about all the Food Bank’s services and so clients can understand their eligibility without having to repeatedly recount their story.  

This screener form represents a shift toward a more compassionate model of service. It replaces fragmented intake processes with a single, streamlined system that reduces administrative burden for both participants and staff.   

The project was developed collaboratively, with input from the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank team, community partners, and the nonprofit Leah’s Pantry, which focuses on trauma-informed nutrition security. Together, they designed and tested the screener form through a pilot program hosted on Qualtrics. Staff and nonprofit partners used the form with 107 participants over a three-month period, collecting feedback from both participants and those administering the form.  

The average participant screened was 63 years old, with a household income of about $1,700 a month and a household size of two. Among those who used the form, 39 were not receiving any Food Bank services at the time; however, after completing the form, they were found eligible for an average of two services. The feedback from participants, staff, and partners was overwhelmingly positive.  

Beyond simplifying access to food, the screener form has strengthened relationships between the Food Bank and its community partners. Several partners who participated in the pilot have expanded their programming in response to what they learned through the collaboration and streamlined data collection. Even after the pilot concluded, many partners continue to use the screener voluntarily, a clear sign of its impact and usefulness.  

In the coming year, the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank plans to reconfigure the screener form so that it is both accessible online for participants to complete fully on their own and also better integrated with our other tech tools. This development will make it easier for thousands of Bay Area residents to access the support they need, without unnecessary repetition or emotional exhaustion.