Food Pantry Client Intake: Fill & Download for Free

I am currently serving as the board president of the Haight Ashbury Food Program in San Francisco, California (www.thefoodprogram.org), and have held this role since 2006. Prior to that I was a paid employee serving as interim Executive Director, grant writer, you name it.HAFP currently operates a food pantry serving more than 200 individuals and families each Saturday. Working as part of this operation looks like this for a typical week:- Sunday - day of rest - you will need it!- Monday - deal with mail, phone calls, buying supplies with petty cash - rubber gloves, cleaning supplies, coffee and cups for the volunteers (about 30 contribute in large and small ways each pantry day)- Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday - general coordination (could include managing communication, donor development, whether food/in-kind or cash, website maintenance, thanks letters, community relations, etc.- Thursday - finalize Saturday volunteers (we have a core group but often make space for walk-in volunteers) and try to organize ways that people can quickly and easily do a task from start to finish. Shopping at the food bank also happens Thursdays.(We get our food bank delivery at 9 on Saturday morning, so have to go and "shop" for what the truck will drop each week in advance).- Friday - Any final pre-pantry prep, good night's sleep.- Saturday -6:00.- first volunteers arrive to distribute numbers for the day. We have a volunteer do this from 6-noon, with our pantry starting at 12:30pm.8:00 - 9:00 - volunteers arrive9:00 - 11:30 - food processing - we get food from the food bank, but also have volunteers who divert about-to-expire food to the pantry, This involves food intake, shunting what is not edible to the compost/recycling, and getting what remains ready for our farmers market-style distribution.11:30 - 12:30 - line prep (general announcements, getting people organized for efficiency, calling the first 20 people, attending to those in wheelchairs or other challenges, etc.12:30 - 2:30 - food distribution - groups of 10, as they go through, we help hold things, remind people of limits (2 onions per person, for example), monitor against stealing and/or other issues2:30 - 4:00 - clean up - the pantry, the parking lot, trash out, any perishables remaining are managed, goodbyes are said, we support clients in getting back home with their food.In between all the daily tasks, we also try to connect personally with as many clients as possible. We know most of our clients by name, and do what we can to receive them openly and without judgement. We hold them to our shared rules for the pantry, and try to bring as much pure humanity as possible to their lives as we cross paths.

Don’t slash calories (food intake) drastically! Anytime I wanted to lose fat fast and reduced calories severly, I ended up shooting myself in the foot and binged my face off and felt aweful. Don’t drop your calories lower than 15% of your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (amount of calories needed to maintain your weight).Don’t shun an entire Macro-Nutrient - If you eliminate carbs completely, do you know what’s coming for you? Yes, you’ll lose a lot of weight (most of it water), but you’ll also get intense cravings and other nasty side-effects. I, for example, tried Keto and hated it! I lost a bunch of strength and muscle, my libido tanked and I always ended up binging after three weeks. Not a sustainable or fun way of living. Skip it. Have carbs.Forgive yourself for slip-ups - Treat yourself like a trusted friend. Don’t worry, I’m not turning into a tree hugger or generic “Quora-self-development” writer…But my point is, your psychology is an overlooked aspect of fat loss succces. Meaning, 80% of your success comes down to the right psychology. One big aspect of becoming a lean person, is learning to forgive yourself for “mistakes” or slip ups. We all have them. It’s how you deal with them that’s important. You ate more cookies than you originally planned? Had a piece of cake too much? DON’T make a big deal out of it! Just like I tell my clients, make it a rule to eat a healthy meal after you’ve eaten fun foods (sweets, “junk”) and you’ll be fine. Get back on the horse, as soon as you’ve fallen off.Aim for sustainable weight/fat loss - The reason why I hate the TV show “The Biggest Loser”, is because it sets up very unrealistic expectations for people. You see, the whole show revolves around people being judged for how much weight they lost in a week. That’s a dangerous practice to emulate for yourself. In fact, if you’re NOT obese (other rules apply) aim to lose around 0.5kg per week! If you lose more than that, you’re probably dropping muscle. No est buneo, as they’d say in Mexico.Implement Intermittent Fasting - I keep harping on about the benefits of skipping breakfast. Why? Because it freakin’ works! IF is excellent at regulating hunger levels and making your fat loss journey fun! No, it’s obviously not magic and you’ll have to get used to being a little hungry in the morning...But as soon as you’re adapted to the new meal frequency, that’s when things get interesting. You’ll be able to eat huge meals at night and never feel as though you’re depriving yourself.Be careful with sugar - NO! Sugar doesn’t make you fat all by itself. I regularly eat ice-cream and still rock a six-pack. The problem is, however, that sugary foods aren’t satiating at all and my lead to serious overeating. How? Well, any time you eat foods that are high in sugar, your body releases a lot of insulin compared to non-sugary foods. As soon as some of the insulin drops off (after 1hr or so) your body thinks it’s starving and signals to your brain: “We’re getting hungry down here.” Can you see where this is going?Eat More Veggies and Salads - Veggies and salads are very voluminous foods. They take up a lot of space in your belly while being low in calories. This is the key to staying full and satiated.Use Strategic Carb Refeeds (advanced) - This one comes straight outta my magic box….Once you’re approaching single digit body fat (six pack is getting more and more pronounced), you’ll need to implement carb refeeds NOT cheat meals. I won’t go into detail of how to do them, but by eating a lot of carbs and upping your calorie intake for one day per week, you off-set many of the negative side-effects of being in a caloric deficit, like cravings, hunger and obsessing about food all day.Know your “Triggers” - Many people who want to lose weight, turn their weekend into a WEAK-END. Most of the progress they worked so hard for during the week, get’s destroyed and all self-control goes out of the window. Why? Because over the years, they’ve developed the habit of overeating on weekends and the body and brain haven’t caught on to the fact, that it’s “fat loss” time. In other words, overeating is a deeply entrenched habit for them. Well, this doesn’t have to happen to you, my esteemed reader, because you’ll be prepared. You know exactly that if you’re out and about with friends, or chillin’ on the couch, you’ll probably feel an irresitable urge to eat high caloric foods. Don’t stress about it, simply have a healthy alternative at hand and plan ahead. Don’t try to “white-knuckle” your way through such situations. Coax your body, don’t force it.Change Your Environment - If it’s not in the fridge, cupboard or pantry…You can’t eat it. I routinely overate out of boredom for some time, because I was in the habit of checking the cupboard for “fun” foods. As soon as we stopped buying those “fun” foods (biscuits and choc) I stopped looking through our cupboard and thus, broke the habit. Again, don’t rely on willpower.Maximize NEAT - NEAT is one of those easy to overlook, yet incredibly effective fat loss tools, that not many people seem to know about. TNEAT =Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenisis. That’s nerd speak for…”Move your arse around more”. You see, whenever you move around, even if it’s NOT exercise, you’re burning energy. Well, why don’t you park your car further away from the office each morning and increase your step count by 3,000? Why don’t you take the stairs instead of the elevator? Little changes like that, a little walk here, a flight of stairs there, do add up to some serious burned calories at the end of the day, without tiring you out or using up too much of your time.Get Your Loved Ones on Board - It’s a tough pill to swallow, but our closest relationships can often hurt our fat loss progress. If your family members or close friends constantly belittle you, or make fun of your fat loss efforts, have a serious words with ‘em. Make it clear, that your health is important to you and that you’d love to feel supported and not mocked for trying to better yourself.Okay, there you have it.Practical advice on how to put the fun back into transforming your body and losing fat.Always remember: Make any change as sustainable, fun and simple as possible and your entire habits around food and exercise will change.Start small.Skip breakfast.Replace one of your usual meals with a healthy tuna salad.Alway think, small, sustainable changes. That’s were the real magic happens.Let me know in the comment, which methods you want to implement or if you’ve got any questions.All the best…and….I’m rooting for you.Mattis RogersP.S. Sign up for my free email newsletter to receive many more practical, real-world, fat loss success strategies. Click here.

I'm glad this is worded as what is a 'good' diet and not what is the 'best' diet. However, the rest of the question seems to imply that the answer should include the answer to the second. So let me extinguish the flame of the second question first, before I discuss a 'good' diet.A Call to End the Diet DebatesThere is no 'best' diet. Science has yet to be definitive on any of this and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. Part of the reason there is no singular 'best' diet is because genetics can play a significant role in determining what a person can tolerate and what another person can't. For instance, some people tolerate gluten just fine, others not so well, the same could be said for lactose, caffeine, lectins, etc...I believe the field of nutrigenomics will probably advance to a point in the next 20 years where a saliva test can help us mostly determine an ideal diet on an individual basis. Based on genetics this field will reveal that a 'best' diet does not exist. Only an ideal diet for an individual based on their own genetic clues and it won't be a perfect science initially, if ever in our lifetime.The reason is that genetics are heavily influenced by environment and need to be expressed (triggered) in such a way that facilitates a certain outcome. In some cases it is simplistic (like a certain gene being associated with a certain enzyme that breaks down a certain food item, like lactase for instance) but in most cases genetics are far more complex and inter-related. Finding these inter-related components will be the tricky part.Aside from genetics I also believe that the mindset component of eating is huge. If you believe you are sensitive or intolerant of something, the placebo effect is incredibly likely even if scientifically you show no allergy is present.For instance the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Food Allergy Quick Facts) estimates that only 0.6% of the population has a peanut allergy, 0.4-0.5% of the population is allergic to tree nuts, and 2.8% of adults are allergic to shellfish and these are among the most common allergens.However it's important to keep in mind that most of this data is on life threatening allergies. Estimates peg 1 in 5 Americans for having either an allergy or asthma. Despite this, apparently about 55% of Americans that get an allergy test, test positive for at least one allergen.An example of a non-life threatening problem with food (meaning you probably won't die of anaphylactic shock) might be the roughly 1% of the population that is Celiac (most of them undiagnosed), a non-life threatening auto-immune disorder that flattens the villa of the intestine and can inhibit nutrient absorption with the consumption of gluten. A protein for in a variety of grains that often leads to nutrient deficiency and has a high correlation to certain cancers, particularly colon. This needs to be differentiated to gluten sensitivity which is probably not gluten sensitivity but rather an unrelated problem with fructan in some people (over-fermentation in the gut basically).This might be surprising to some who have recently adopted the trendy gluten-free diet. I'm not saying this is a bad idea, certainly for many it can provide a lot of relief, however, like I said the mind is a powerful contributor to this equation. Diet is really not just about what you eat, it's how you eat, why you eat, where you eat, sometimes when you eat and a lot of it has to do with the psychology of eating.Assuming you don't have energy or Gastrointestinal (GI) issues, I'd say assume that you can eat mostly anything at this point, and so there is no need to tweak your diet based on foods you shouldn't be eating, providing you eat with a level of variety.If for whatever reason though, you don't feel great, have energy issues or GI issues you might want to consider talking to your doctor, a naturopath or trying something like The Elimination Diet (disclosure: my blog)With the science not being completely caught up, a service like 23andMe can still give you some genetic insight into a style of eating that might be more appropriate for you. I'm not sure their data set is entirely accurate, but for now we do know the association between some genes and your typical reaction to certain foods, mostly as it pertains to enzyme production (for example the enzymes that help people process caffeine quickly, or something like lactase, the enzyme needed to break down lactose). It also doesn't really fall in line with what we know about genes, mainly that genes express themselves via environment. So you may have a gene closely associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and they recommend you decrease your saturated fat intake, but because you're never exposed to certain environmental triggers (like say exposure to a pollutant or significant weight gain), that gene never expresses itself and you never had to worry about saturated fat in the first place (in some cases even, maybe it's moderate consumption provided some protection against something else).Outside of this, the best you can do is mostly trial and error but where most people make mistakes with this approach is dramatic changes without slow reintroduction. Don't overhaul too much at once. For instance, try removing starchy carbohydrates for a period of time (let's say 2-4 weeks...eat less than 100 g of carbohydrates per day, exclusively in the form of veggies) for instance, gauge how you feel and then slowly reintroduce them starting with post-workout, then maybe try alternative times of day too like morning or evening (carbohydrate consumption releases serotonin, which can improve sleep in some). Unfortunately there are many potential changes like this to make and reading won't generally give you the right answer, you have to go out and experience these changes in small controllable doses and tweak and tweak and tweak appropriately based on the feedback you get (in this case, additional fat loss). If you change too much at each time, its harder to get good feedback and figure out if what changes you're making are contributing to the change.All of that being said, here is what a good diet is to me:1) You have a keen awareness and adherence to your diet (whatever 'it' may be categorized as).Science tells us that adherence to any diet is the most important factor, so if you are presently following a diet you don't believe in or one that you struggle with psychologically to stay on, you'll do worse than a diet you can stick with long term and is easy for you to adhere to, follow and maybe make small manipulations to. Find a strategy that works for you, regardless of whether or not that is Paleo, Vegan, High-Carb/Low-Fat, Low-Carb/High-Fat, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, or 'Flexitarian.' Also define your own guidelines within any so called 'category' of diet, not every vegetarian should or will eat the same things.2) You focus on quality ingredients whenever possible and in adherence with #1.This doesn't necessarily mean only eat grass fed meat, organic vegetables, non-gmo beans/grains, etc...etc... but it can, if that's what you can afford and believe works ideally. The mistake a lot of people make when recommending you increase the quality of your food is that belief is a powerful mechanism, if you believe this food to be pointless, out of reach financially or otherwise, you're better off sticking with the highest quality foods your mind and wallet can tolerate. Just because you don't feel you can't afford organic produce doesn't mean you can't eat more non-organic vegetables (washed in vinegar or another pesticide removing solution as a cheaper option) or fruit.More and more I believe that merely cooking as much of your own food (or having control over what goes into it) increases mindfulness, therefore adherence and the quality of your food gradually goes up. It could also mean finding more affordable solutions to grass-fed meat and fish (which can be expensive to purchase, maybe more cheaper vegetarian options would be ideal under such a circumstance).3) Takes into strong consideration your personal situation.I mention above cost of food and financial situation but you could also consider any of the following:Work Situation (shift work is different from 9 to 5)Emotional Intelligence/Fortitude (willpower, temptation control, etc...)Family Situation (people with kids eat differently than those without)Life Demands (do you work more than one job? do you volunteer? do you live in a particular part of the world?)Income (financial situation)Education (socio-economic status)Climate/Location (sun affects metabolism, eating, and drinking)Environmental Pollutants (your exposure to toxins via job, work, income, life demands, etc...)Time Available (for cooking and/or preparing and/or exercise)Physical Exercise (Time, Quality, etc...)Food Availability (do you live near a quality growing region?)Cooking Experience and knowledgeEtc...I've met many people who diet beyond their mental control (take on too much change at once) and fail. Even when the diet may be perfectly fine on paper, it simply isn't easy to adhere to because it doesn't match their situational needs.4) Helps address nutritional deficiencies (or potential deficiencies).For some this might mean more vitamin and mineral supplementation, but for most others it means getting a variety of quality foods from a variety of sources. Eating a relatively high amount of a variety of vegetables (6+ servings a day), some fruit (1-2 maybe if you choose), potentially some grains (1-3 servings maybe depending on tolerance), lean proteins (roughly 0.7 grams per pound of lean mass, or about 15-50 grams a meal, depending on size/goals; From animal and/or vegetable sources) and healthy fats (roughly 30% of the diet, consisting of a balance [1/3 each] of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and saturated fats; perhaps a slight skew to unsaturated varieties, particularly Omega-3 sources). Of course these are generalizations, you can be higher or lower than these recommendations in some cases.5) Helps control energy intake and appetite.Lean protein increases satiability, as does fiber. Fat in some cases makes you feel more satisfied (when used in reasonable quantities; fats are also very easy to over consume) as well. Food should be satiating so as to stave off later binging and hunger. It's important to note that most people do not have a good relationship with their hunger response and tend to eat out of boredom or routine instead of actual hunger. Most people also typically do not eat slowly, knowing that it takes roughly 20 minutes for the body's hormones to signal to your brain that you are full. This is why something like Hara Hachi Bu alone, can be a very effective weight loss strategy.If you're a vegetarian or vegan you're better off finding complementary foods that increase satiability too like rice and beans, squash and beans, potatoes (whole preferred obviously) and if you're the former; Eggs, or dairy, among others. It's been my experience that proteins greatest use might be in this regard and I aim to eat about 20-50 grams with nearly every meal depending on my objectives (though not necessarily in the order of animal protein only) depending on meal frequency (which should also be personalized in my opinion).Fiber is also up there in terms of importance; I have very little doubt that a diet high(ish) in fiber is good (~25–35 grams depending on size/gender). I just think most of that fiber should come from vegetable plant sources as opposed to the Health Canada recommendations of about 6-7 servings of grains (which is considerably lower than even 5 years ago, when they were still recommending 10-11). Although high fiber foods like flax, chia, hemp and other seeds/nuts could certainly be included in the mix with veggies in appropriate doses (1–3 servings per day generally).6) Takes into account environment and mindful eating practices.If you have things in your house, you'll eat them. If you eat things off a big plate, or from a larger container you eat more. If you eat faster you eat more. If you eat while watching TV/movies/etc... or other distractions (like at your desk while trying to work) you are likely to eat more. Learning how to mindfully eat and take control of your environment is a key skill for any recomposition plan.Try a 'Kitchen Makeover' to remove junky foods from your pantry, particularly plan sight. Talk to your boss/manager/co-workers about donuts, cookies, muffins, and other junk foods that often end up in the work place (that although they are nice gestures, they are not great options to have around). Turn off the TV and computer when you eat. Order the small serving sizes when you eat out. Buy 9" plates instead of the standard 11" plates. Start eating with chop sticks. Aim to chew every bite of food 20-40 times. There are many other strategies you could adopt, but hopefully you get the idea.7) Is used in conjunction with appropriate physical activity/exercise.I've known many people to feel that they can exclude physical exercise in a weight loss plan. While exercise alone tends to be shown as a poor way to change body composition, when used in combination with nutritional changes it's like a turbo charger in action. There are all kinds of physiological changes from exercise that interact directly with the physical intake of food. Exercise can help alter things positively like insulin resistance for example.Now...What you need to do for what appears to be your objective should include all this but here are the more specific incremental changes I would make if I were you:Start Exercising 3-6 times a week (even if that means once a week to start and build from there) - specifically learn how to weight train and move properly/safely while training. If you think you're eating pretty healthy but you're not seeing a change it's because you're not forcing your body to make any changes - exercise is one of the best methods for that. Ideally strength/resistance training 2-3 times a week out of those 3-6.Start eating lean proteins with each (or at least most) meal (minimum of 15 grams a serving) - this does not have to be animal protein necessarily, though that is generally an easy source.Increase your vegetable consumption with each meal (roughly 6+ servings per day, each serving is about the size of your fist). Vegetables in truth are very hard to overeat, unless you eat the same vegetable all the time, so stick with some variety and eat a lot of veggies overall.Move your starchy carbohydrate (tubers if you want to go the paleo route, but other grains work too, particularly oats, quinoa and rice) consumption only to days you train, ideally within 2-3 hours before/after a training session. This creates a bit of a carb-cycling effect, which is very effective for this objective (and others).Make sure you consume small amounts of healthy fats daily. Consider eating more fish, or taking a fish oil supplement for the short term to increase your Omega-3 consumption; You could also consider eating more wild or free-range/grass-fed meats too, including organ meat if you can tolerate it. You may also lean towards eating a handful of nuts (Walnuts have a good amount of Omega-3's) on non-training days for energy instead of a starchy carbohydrates. Alternatively 1 TBSP of flax, chia, hemp on non-training days could have a similar effect for Omega-3's though it's harder to convert the ALA found in in plant based sources (except algae) into DHA and EPA which are the more useful of the 3 for human beings. Start cooking more with ghee/clarified butter, olive oil, macadamia nut oil, virgin red palm oil and virgin coconut oil/milk in small quantities - 1TBSP {milk is more per serving obviously...}. The less processed the better, stick clear of 'refined' oils and look for cold-pressed varieties.Take a food log and enter into any number of calorie logging servies for 3-5 days to get a better picture of how much food you actually eat vs how much you perceive to eat. I use logging with nearly every single client to make them aware of their diet, most people tend to think they eat better than they actually do. Use a service like http://myfitnesspal.com or http://fitday.com or similar service to get an idea of the quantities of certain types of foods you eat. I don't view calorie counting as a great long-term solution, but the awareness component can be a good wake up call for most people in helping them realize just how much they actually eat (we all tend to think that we eat less than we do).Work with a coach who can help you make more specific and appropriate tweaks based on your unique needs. Its tough to get good actionable advice without divulging the details of your diet and not the rough outline. I get way more information from my clients via surveys, data tracking, etc...You need more specific information the further away from 'normal' you want to move. Going from 30% to 19% is much easier generally (because the changes you can make are easier to implement) than going from 19% to 12%, which is easier still than going from 12% to 7% depending on the person. Coaches make a world of difference and provide you with much needed objective feedback.