Background. Food insecurity is a predictor of poor health outcomes and a critical social determinant of health. Food shelves are critical community resources aimed to counter food insecurity by providing nutrition and other resources to those in
need. Food insecurity in Winooski, Vermont is substantial and increasing, with 10% of
residents utilizing the Winooski Food Shelf (WFS) in 2018. To aid in the increasing demand of the WFS, we determined the greatest need(s) to implement a sustainable intervention to ensure capacity to meet demands.

Methods. Data collection was performed in two phases. First, structured interviews with open-ended questions were administered to 11 WFS leadership and/ or volunteers. A thematic analysis was performed of qualitative responses to identify greatest needs. Second, based on the identified needs, a sustainable online volunteer system was created and implemented.

Results. Thematic analysis of the 11 structured interviews identified three categories of responses: goals, barriers, and tasks. Within goals, responses were subcategorized into donations, organization, and additional services. Barriers had two subcategories: limited outreach and volunteer hours. Tasks were subdivided into client support, physical labor, and organizational.

Conclusion. The structured interview responses led us to create a sustainable volunteer system by partnering the WFS with local university students. Sixteen volunteers from the University of Vermont have been recruited to date. Providing a sustainable system to recruit volunteers can help address future goals and increasing demands of the WFS, ultimately to address local food insecurity. Developing university-community partnerships can help to efficiently address community needs.