Food Purchasing Manager

Position Summary:

The Food Purchasing Manager oversees the procurement of purchased food and related products to ensure the Community Food Bank (CFB) maintains a consistent, nutritious, and cost-effective inventory to support agency partners, direct service programs, and organizational initiatives. This position contributes to the development of purchasing strategies, manages commercial vendor relationships, negotiates contracts and pricing, administers procurement processes, and collaborates with Food Sourcing, Warehouse Operations, Allocations, Transportation, Finance, and Programs to ensure food purchases align with organizational demand, inventory goals, and approved budget.

The Food Purchasing Manager is responsible for purchasing execution and vendor management and, with donor acquisition activities limited to a small, assigned portfolio as time permits. This position ensures procurement activities comply with organizational policies, funding requirements, and applicable regulations while continuously improving purchasing processes and supply chain efficiency.

Key Responsibilities

Procurement Strategy & Purchasing Operations

• Contribute to and implement purchasing strategies that align with organizational priorities, inventory objectives, and approved operating budgets.
• Procure food and related products that meet quality, nutritional, operational, and financial requirements.
• Support the development of annual and seasonal purchasing plans based on organizational demand, inventory targets, and market conditions.
• Identify opportunities to improve procurement efficiency, product availability, and overall value.
• Monitor food markets, commodity pricing, product availability, and supply chain conditions to support informed purchasing decisions.
• Use purchasing as a strategic gap-filling tool for priority categories such as protein, dairy, shelf-stable foods, frozen foods, disaster readiness, and culturally appropriate foods.

Vendor & Supplier Management

• Develop, negotiate, and maintain relationships with commercial food vendors, distributors, brokers, manufacturers, and service providers.
• Negotiate pricing, contracts, freight terms, rebates, and service agreements that provide the best overall value to CFB.
• Evaluate supplier performance related to pricing, quality, delivery, responsiveness, and service levels.
• Identify and qualify new suppliers to improve competition, product availability, and organizational resilience.
• Resolve vendor performance issues and recommend corrective actions when necessary.

Purchasing Administration

• Manage purchase orders, procurement documentation, contracts, and purchasing records.
• Ensure procurement activities comply with organizational purchasing policies, grant requirements, government regulations, and funding restrictions.
• Coordinate competitive bid processes and vendor selection activities as appropriate.
• Maintain accurate purchasing data within ERP and procurement systems.
• Review invoices and purchasing documentation to ensure accuracy and timely payment processing.
• Support purchased product setup, order tracking, and purchasing documentation for the bulk food purchasing program.

Inventory Planning & Supply Management

• Analyze inventory levels, historical usage, demand forecasts, and distribution trends to determine replenishment needs.
• Collaborate with the Allocations Manager and Warehouse Operations to ensure purchased inventory supports organizational food flow and program priorities.
• Recommend purchasing adjustments based on inventory aging, product movement, seasonal demand, and operational capacity.
• Assist in establishing inventory goals and replenishment strategies that minimize waste while maintaining adequate product availability.

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Partner with Warehouse Operations to coordinate delivery schedules, receiving priorities, and storage requirements for purchased products.
• Collaborate with Transportation regarding inbound freight, carrier performance, and delivery logistics.
• Work with Finance to support budget development, purchasing forecasts, financial reporting, and invoice reconciliation.
• Coordinate with Programs and Agency Partnerships to understand changing program needs and incorporate those requirements into purchasing plans.
• Coordinate with Food Sourcing regarding products available through donation channels to avoid unnecessary purchasing and maximize organizational resources.

Financial Management & Reporting

• Manage assigned purchasing budgets, expenditures, freight costs, and cost-saving opportunities.
• Analyze procurement data to identify spending trends, pricing changes, supplier performance, and purchasing efficiencies.
• Prepare regular reports regarding purchasing activity, vendor performance, inventory trends, and budget utilization.
• Recommend procurement improvements that reduce costs while maintaining product quality and service levels.
• Provide purchasing data, pricing trends, and budget variance information to support budget planning and review.
• Complete quarterly price audits for selected bulk purchase SKUs against local retailer pricing and recommend adjustments as needed.

Compliance & Continuous Improvement

• Ensure procurement activities comply with Feeding America standards, USDA requirements, organizational policies, and applicable procurement regulations.
• Support food safety initiatives by ensuring purchased products meet quality and regulatory standards.
• Identify opportunities to improve purchasing workflows, procurement systems, and supply chain processes.
• Participate in ERP enhancements, procurement process improvements, and organizational change initiatives.
• Prepare reports and recommendations for leadership regarding purchasing performance, emerging opportunities, operational risks, and market trends.

Leadership

• Provide functional guidance and coordination to staff involved in purchasing and procurement-related processes. Develop standardized procurement procedures, purchasing documentation, and vendor management practices.
• Foster collaboration across Food Sourcing and operational departments to improve organizational performance.
• Represent CFB with vendors, suppliers, purchasing cooperatives, and industry organizations as appropriate.

Other

• Perform other duties as assigned.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the staff member for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.