Arkansas Foodbank Earns 'Superior' Rating from AIB

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. —  The Arkansas Foodbank has received a “superior” rating from the American Institute of Baking (AIB) International, the highest and most coveted rating for food safety awarded by AIB.

The Foodbank scored 980 out of a possible 1,000 points – the highest score ever achieved by a Feeding America food bank – and making it one of only the seven of the 200 Feeding America food banks to earn a superior AIB rating.
The announcement was made by the Arkansas Foodbank’s Chief Executive Officer, Phyllis Haynes. “This is one more example of how the Arkansas Foodbank is leading in serving disadvantaged Arkansans with high-quality food handled safely and efficiently,” she said.

The award recognizes the Arkansas Foodbank’s quality in goods handling, outstanding food safety and sanitary working conditions, and its exemplary training for employees regarding proper handling of food products and ingredients.  Rigorous inspections and training are required of companies that receive the certification.  The recognition verifies that the Arkansas Foodbank is committed to the highest level of service to its partner agencies, donors, and the thousands of families it ultimately serves.

Phyllis Haynes, CEO of the Arkansas Foodbank, said she was very proud of the team responsible for achieving the superior rating, crediting Chief Operating Officer T.J. Romine, Facilities Manager Eric Shelby and Warehouse Manager Myron Jackson with leading the effort.

The Foodbank warehouse, an $8 million, 72,928-square-foot facility at 4301 W. 65th St., which opened in May of 2011, more than tripled the Foodbank’s storage capacity compared to its former warehouse--a retrofitted UPS terminal in Southeast Little Rock. A new Steel King racking system and high-reaching fork lifts allow five-high vertical pallet storage, and a large refrigerator-freezer and cold dock improved the Foodbank’s ability to handle semi-trailer loads of food requiring cold storage.