Community Interfaith Food Pantry

SERVICE ANIMALS

​

Community Interfaith Food Pantry will permit clients who are disabled persons with service animals to access pantry areas open to the general public. Community Interfaith Food Pantry will permit volunteers who are disabled persons with service animals to access to the entire food pantry property. All other animals are not permitted in pantry buildings but are allowed outside while on a leash or tethered.

Definitions

Disabled Person. A person who has a sensory, mental or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more life activities (i.e., walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, performing manual tasks, caring for oneself, etc).

 

Service Animal. Any dog trained to do work or perform tasks related to the person’s disability. The more common service animals include:

• A guide service dog trained to assist in navigation and other tasks for a person who is either legally blind or has low vision.

• An alert service dog trained to alert a person with significant hearing loss or who is deaf when a sound occurs (i.e, a knock on the door, etc.).

• A mobility service dog trained to assist a person who has a mobility or health disability (i.e., carrying, fetching, opening doors, ringing doorbells, steadying a person while walking, etc.).

• A seizure response dog trained to assist a person with a seizure disorder.

 

The following are not service animals:

• A pet or comfort dog

• Therapy dog

• A service dog in training

 

Procedures

1. If it is not apparent that the dog is a service animal the volunteer may ask the following questions:

      Is the animal required because of a disability?

      What work or task has the animal been trained to perform for a disabled person?

      Under no circumstances can a volunteer ask about the nature of the person’s disability or request documentation for the animal.

 

    -The service animal must be on a leash, harness or tether and its handler must be always in full control.

 

    -A person with a disability may only be asked to remove their service animal from the pantry if the service animal is disruptive and its handler does not take               effective action to keep it under control.

​

    -Volunteers should report any incident involving a service animal or its handler to the CIFP Director.

​

​

​

​

NONDISCRIMINATIJON POLICY

 

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

 

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

 

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at:  https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

1. mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or

2. fax:
(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or

3. email:
program.intake@usda.gov

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.