CONNECTIONS
Fannin County Family Connection, Inc
Winter/Spring 2019-20
Fannin
County A
Family
Connection,
Our
Vision:
community
of Inc.
healthy and safe children and families
Vol. 1, Issue 1
Vol. 5, Issue 1
Pivot! Pantry Client Service Goes Drive-thru
In a world that is constantly changing, especially in the past three months,
businesses have had to make adjustments. Pivot seems to be the operative
word. In the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, our plan was to have one
person from each client family enter the building, visit the handwashing sta-
tion, and then complete forms. We planned this procedure for one person
entering the building, along with sanitation protocols for the warehouse and
packing stations on Friday afternoon. We thought we had a good plan in
place as we left for the weekend. However, over the weekend the stories of
the virus spreading rapidly became commonplace on the news and online.
Staff members converged early on Monday morning and within 15 minutes,
a new plan was hatched. We developed a drive up system whereby clients
do not enter the building. One person greets clients from a social distancing
space, getting name and pertinent information. A desk clerk handles the
entry process while volunteers in the warehouse pack the carts. In a remote
area, another person looks up client information and completes all of the
necessary forms. The cart is pushed to the sidewalk area and unless the cli-
ent is disabled, the client loads the food from the cart into their vehicle.
While this plan requires one more person working with the database of cli-
ents, there is no personal entry into the Food Pantry area except for volun-
teers and staff. We were lucky that we had hand sanitizer in stock and were
able to get a large supply of food safe sanitizer for the packing tables. We
always have gloves in stock year round for volunteers should they want to
use them. We were able to purchase five cans of spray disinfectant for the
carts. Our friend, Kevin Panter, kindly delivered another six spray bottles of
disinfectant within a few days. (continued, page 3)
Pantry volunteer Scott brings the cart to clients as they
drive to the door for pick-up. As a response to COVID-19,
client documents are completed outside and clients load
their food products into their vehicle.
Pantry Client Numbers Increase almost
40% in March. See story on Page 5.
“We all have an unsuspected
reserve of strength inside
that emerges when life puts
us to the test.”
~Isabel Allende
In This Issue
Pivot! Pantry Client Service
Goes Drive-thru, pg 1
Food for Thought, pg 2
Underage Drinking Aware-
ness Grant Received, pg 3
Bowls of Hope Cancelled,
pg 3
Thank You Donors, pg 4
Connecting Hope and Help,
pg 5
Our Community Gives, pg 5
FC Receives Heart of the
Community Award, pg 6
Friends Help FC, pg 6
Leadership Fannin Visits
Fannin Connection, pg 3
Food Pantry Numbers In-
crease 40% in March 2020,
pg 5
Summer Meals Program
Making 2020 plans, pg 5
Clothes Closet Closed, pg 7
Our Community Gives, pg 7
Busy Seasons at FC, pg 8
Christmas Tour of Homes,
pg 8