Truck deliveries make a difference in Shelby County

Food and Nutrition, July, 1985 by Diana Swindel

Charles Faust operates a delivery service that makes getting food help a lot easier for women and children participating in the Commodity Supplemental Food Program in Shelby County, Tennessee.

Faust, warehouse manager for more than 6 years at the Memphis and Shelby County Health Deparment, is proud of the delivery service and of the staff that runs it. The service is quite unlike any other in the Southeast.

The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (or CSFP) provides USDA-purchased commodities once a month to low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women; infants; and children up to age 6.

The food packages are specifically designed to provide supplemental foods to this nutritionally vulnerable group. CSFP food packages contain such products as dry milk, infant formula, egg mix, peanut butter or dry beans, and canned meats, fruits, and vegetables.

In most areas that have CSFP, the program is administered by state and local health agencies in cooperation with USDA's Food and Nutrition Service. In Tennessee, the CSFP is administered by the State Department of Health and Environment and operated in four counties--Dyer, Shelby, Davidson, and Weakly.

Deliveries made throughout county

The service that is unique to this community is a truck delivery operation that brings CSFP food packages to 11 different sites throughout Shelby County. CSFP participants can pick up their food at one of these sites or at one of the two Memphis food warehouse locations.

"On a sunny day, this park looks like the Fourth of July with children playing and mothers visiting," says Faust as he oversees the distribution of CSFP food packages at a truck site in Millinton, Tennessee.

"Without the truck delivery program," says Faust, "some of these people could not afford the drive downtown to the warehouse to pick up their food." The drive from Millington is approximately 25 miles from downtown Memphis.

Participants appreciate having this service closer to their homes. The county has been operating the delivery service of more than 15 years.

"Out of some 13,000 people served by CSFP through the Shelby County Health Department, we serve 3,000 at our truck delivery sites," says Faust. At these sites, the clients present their ID cards to the health department staff and are given an order form indicating which food package they are to receive.

When the client accepts the package, she signs for it and returns the signed order form to the staff. The participant is notified at this time if she needs recertification prior to the next month's pick up date. Participant's must be recertified for eligibility every 6 months. The completed forms are then returned to the main office where the information is recorded.

Deliveries save county money

"IT is a very basic and simple procedure--direct delivery from the warehouse to the participant, and it saves money for the client and the county. We'd probably have to have another warehouse to serve the outskirts of town if it weren't for these truck sites," says Faust. The same staff serves the central warehouse and all 11 truck stops.

All truck delivery sites, as well as the two warehouses downtown, are supplied through a central warehouse. Although this central warehouse covers some 15,000 square feet, the staff has an efficient method of inventorying their stock every day of the week.

"If there is a problem with our numbers, we discover it when it is made, not a week or a month later. It is much faster and cheaper to correct an error this way," says Faust.

The health department is also concerned about the quality of the foods received in the packages. "In order to keep the foods their freshest, we maintain temperature control throughout the summer and winter at our warehouses.

"We also turn the entire pallet of our liquid cases every time we move them. This prevents the separation of milk products or juices, which would make the products look unappetizing," says Faust.

Special efforts make a difference

"We take special pride and care in the job we do. The little things we do differently in Shelby County make a big difference in the quality service our clients receive. Our staff is a group of hard-working people. They feel good about the job they're doing. Without them, my job would be impossible," says Faust.

The Memphis and Shelby County Health Department has also implemented an appointment system for picking up the CSFP food packages at the two Memphis warehouses. When the participant is certified, she is assigned a time-frame within which to go to the warehouse (either South Memphis or Guthrie) to receive her monthly package.

This system went into place during the early 1980's. Since that time, there has been a dramatic improvement in the length of a time a participant has to wait for her food package.

"Now, unless there is a special problem, no one waits more than 10 minutes to pick up her package. The clients are spaced during the day so there isn't a crunch at any time," says Faust.

In both the truck delivery service and the appointment system, the Memphis and Shelby County Health Department saw a need in the community and responded in ways that benefit the county as well as participants.