BCHP Toolkits: Hunger Free Community Coalitions

Our Toolkit for Developing and Strengthening Hunger Free Community Coalitions (2018), is a free resource to support the development of new coalitions or for existing coalitions looking for information on how to strengthen their work. It is not a one-size-fits-all instruction manual but rather a guide that provides important strategies and best practice considerations for coalitions in various settings and contexts. 

This toolkit serves as a best practice guide to help move through important steps in building and sustaining a successful coalition.  It is important to note that the order of the steps outlined serve as a guide and following this order is not always necessary. Additionally, we believe that existing coalitions should take time to reflect on the overall sustainability and success of their coalition. In doing so, they can use stand-alone sections of the toolkit at any time to continue to develop and strengthen all aspects of their work.

Throughout the toolkit you will find Best Practice Case Studies—highlights of best practices from coalitions across Texas in creating strong, impactful, and sustainable coalitions and Tools and Resources—worksheets and templates designed to support the development of your Hunger Free Community Coalition.

This toolkit was created by the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty (formally the Texas Hunger Initiative) based on research, education, and years of experience working with communities and building coalitions.  BCHP (formerly THI) staff members are working in communities every day to implement the tools and practices laid out in this toolkit and its contents were born out of their work. Marc Jacobson, Mary Herbert, Megan Hoag, and Katie Nye were the primary authors and compilers of the Toolkit for Developing and Strengthening Hunger Free Community Coalitions.

This tool provides guidance to coalitions on how to quickly assess the resources and needs of your community during a crisis, allowing you to more effectively identify where your coalition can be most impactful in moving to action. It will walk you through a simple process of identifying needs and resources, creating an action plan and moving to implementation. 

This toolkit was created by the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty (formally the Texas Hunger Initiative) based on survey responses from HFCC Network coalitions during the COVID-19 crisis. This toolkit was developed from content from the Toolkit for Developing and Strengthening Hunger Free Community Coalitions, coalition feedback, and from staff and VISTA experience working with coalitions. Amai De la Fuente, former AmeriCorps VISTA and Megan Hoag were the primary authors and compilers of the HFCC Rapid-Response Assessment and Action Tool.