Video Description: Food pantries provide a vitally important service to their community, but how do such organizations make sure that the food pantry operates as a successful business so it can do that good work for a long period of time?  Meet the people behind Circle of Concern, a food pantry in St. Louis, Missouri, and learn about best practices they use to ensure that they can serve the people of their community.  Areas of practice include staffing, maintenance of food stock, enrollment and support of eligible participants, client choice options in food selection, and special programs.

• Before viewing the video, have students brainstorm what they think goes into operating a food pantry. What supplies are needed? How do they think it is organized? How is food obtained, etc.? Have students view the video to learn how this food pantry operates and then, after viewing, have students share what they learned with each other.
• View the video from a marketing perspective. What examples of business practices the food pantry uses could be used to positively market their operation and encourage people to use the facility. Have students, individually or in groups, develop a marketing strategy focused on one of those practices.
• View the video from the perspective of “inventory control.” What challenges would a food pantry face with inventory? Have students research strategies and software that could help a food pantry with this issue.