Link2Feed’s food bank software helps the Daily Bread Food Bank get critical supplies to diabetic clients.
Lack of data prevents equitable distribution of resources
The Daily Bread Food Bank (Daily Bread) believes that access to food is a basic human right, not a privilege, and that no one should face barriers in accessing food.
As such, the food bank is always looking for ways to enhance access to programming and felt real-time data would be key to connecting clients with the food and services they need.
As with many food banks, Daily Bread would occasionally receive donations of specialty items that would need to be returned to donors or discarded of because of an unclear correlation between these items and client needs. The food bank hoped that having a better understanding of the people they were serving would help them more equitably distribute these items across their network.
Data about dietary considerations provides important resources to diabetics
Shortly after adopting Link2Feed’s food bank software, Daily Bread received a shipment of diabetic supplies that would normally have been returned to the donor. Since the food bank tracks diabetics in the “Dietary Considerations” section of Link2Feed, they were able to use the “Statistics Report” to determine which of their agencies served the highest population of diabetic clients and then equitably distribute the supplies among these agencies.
Food bank software improves client health and reduces waste
Having access to this data in real-time allowed the food bank to provide a resource that helps clients improve their health and reduce the costs associated with managing diabetes.
It also created the opportunity to work with a new donor and reduce both costs and waste that normally would have been incurred for a shipment of these items.
“Link2Feed has allowed us to look beyond annual counts of the number of people served as the basis for our distribution. We now have access to real-time client information, including special dietary considerations, to help us distribute resources across our network based on client need. This data has helped us ensure that the food we are providing our agencies is aligned with what their clients request, and helps our resources make a greater impact in our community.” – Charles Jergl, Director of Agency Relations, Daily Bread Food Bank.
