Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana establishes unprecedented ‘Satisfaction Guarantee’

Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana President and CEO Fred Glass announced Thursday that Gleaners has established a new Satisfaction Guarantee for its partners, as well as everyone else it serves.

The announcement came during Glass’ presentation at the eighth annual Hunger and Health Breakfast hosted by Gleaners and the Indianapolis Business Journal.

The Gleaners Satisfaction Guarantee, believed to be the only such guarantee provided by any food bank in the nation, provides that:

Gleaners guarantees that the food it provides will, upon delivery to any partner or neighbor, have a reasonable “shelf life” assuming proper storage, to their reasonable satisfaction, or we will promptly replace it.

“The Gleaners Satisfaction Guarantee is based on our belief that everyone we serve deserves to receive good quality food, whether through our pantry and other partners or directly to our neighbors in need,” Glass said. “While Gleaners has always sought to provide good quality food, we have made new investments and instituted additional policies and practices to even better ensure the quality of the food we provide.”

Gleaners’ new food-quality investments have included promoting industry-expert Nichole Louis to the newly expanded role of Food Safety and Quality Assurance Director; creating the new position of Food Safety and Quality Assurance Specialist and filling it with another food-quality professional; enhancing comprehensive and integrated food quality and safety training for all Gleaners staff; establishing a robust food quality inspection system, where the food is inspected upon receipt, in inventory, through order fulfillment, and during transportation; developing a new Consumer Complaint Tracking System; creating a weekly expiration report to track food retention dates more frequently; and establishing internal Quality Assurance Team meetings.

In addition, Gleaners continues to embrace daily inspections of its Protein Repack Center by an on-site USDA inspector; regular safety training for staff and network partners; temperature monitoring during receiving, inventory, shipping, and transportation; and daily environmental swabbing tests for potential contaminants. As a food distribution organization, Gleaners also receives annual inspections from the Indiana Department of Health and bi-annual AIB food safety audits.

The Gleaners Satisfaction Guarantee

Gleaners believes that everyone it serves deserves good quality food, whether through our pantry and other partners or directly to our neighbors in need (collectively our “Partners”). Thus, Gleaners guarantees that the food it provides will, upon delivery to any Partner, have a reasonable “shelf life” assuming proper storage to their reasonable satisfaction, or we will promptly replace it (the “Satisfaction Guarantee”).

The Satisfaction Guarantee does not extend to food provided to network pantry partners through the Direct Agency Pickup program (DAP) as that food is not physically controlled or provided by Gleaners. Any network pantry partners having food quality issues through DAP should nevertheless contact Gleaners, and we will endeavor to help address the situation with the DAP provider.

Partners should inspect food provided by Gleaners upon delivery, document by photograph any unsatisfactory food, and immediately notify Gleaners. We will pick up and dispose of any such food and replace it with similar, satisfactory food. Likewise, any neighbors receiving food directly from Gleaners (such as through the drive-thru pantry), who upon receiving it discover food that is not of satisfactory quality may return it to be replaced by Gleaners. Neighbors who receive unsatisfactory food from Gleaners through a Partner, should contact the Partner which, if appropriate, should address the situation with Gleaners.

* * *

Learn more and donate at Gleaners.org.