Nourish Community


Hunger relief sites–food banks, food pantries, warm meal providers–are tremendous engines of civic strength and connection. They bring together a cross-section of community members, staff, volunteers and neighbors, and, in a moment where many communities are seeking to push back on social fracturing and isolation, can help model the type of “relational volunteerism” that fosters shared ownership of a place.

This project sets out to explore and learn from best practices from hunger relief sites around the country and help circulate practical, adaptable methods that can be used by service organizations nationwide.  In 2026-27, we will be collaborating with three diverse community partners to deepen or develop interventions and practices that strengthen the relational component of their work.

Together with partners we will co-designing in-person experiences that explore questions like:

  • How might stronger relationships between staff, volunteers, and neighbors help meet people’s tangible needs in formal and informal ways?
  • Where is it necessary and possible to shift from transactional service models to relational models? 
  • Is there dormant power that CU could help uncover and activate in partnership with food banks to increase dignity, agency, and sustained relationships within the communities they serve?

These collaborations will…

Identify opportunities for new, relational practices to take root. 

We are conducting a national landscape assessment of service practices at hunger relief sites, and will use both the results of this research and the relationships that emerge from the process to help define what meaningful collaboration could look like. Read the report (coming soon) →

Shift culture and strengthen community power in food bank settings.

We are co-designing relational programming with three Nourish Community partners,customizing our existing program models which center on practiced vulnerability, power-sharing, and building bonds of trust and affection. Essential to this project is input and insight from local partners, including volunteers, recipients, staff, and other community stakeholders. We will design a scope of engagement that matches each partner’s capacity, context, and needs, integrating mutualistic activities and relationship-building experiences into their existing offerings. We will also provide seed funding to partners to sustain activities over the long term.

Generate actionable insights and tools to support broader adoption of transformative service practices.

Citizen University will synthesize what worked (and what didn’t!) across our three collaborations and distill them down into best practices for how service organizations can prioritize and implement relational volunteerism practices with their communities. We will work with partner sites to circulate their stories and lift up the good work each partner is doing in their community, shining a spotlight on the often unsung efforts of direct service organizations. We will circulate these stories and learnings widely through media, toolkits, and events.

Have any ideas for an innovative hunger-relief site we should know about? Get in touch with Moses Ngong