Link2Feed’s food bank client software helps the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank reduce administrative time by 100 hours per month.
Previous software creates significant data collection challenges
The Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank (FRFB) serves over 285 food assistance programs across six counties in eastern Virginia.
FRFB has always believed in the importance of collecting data and working as a network to better serve clients. Prior to using Link2Feed’s food bank client software, they partnered with the United Way to implement a shared case management system across their community.
However, because of limitations in the system, the software was only used by a portion of their network. This meant that some data was collected in the software, and some on paper, which lead to complicated spreadsheets and challenges synthesizing mixed data sources.
The system also lacked the ability to run aggregate reports, instead requiring downloads of raw data that had to be manually tabulated. The raw data download itself could take anywhere from a few hours to several days, and would then require countless hours of deduplication and tabulation to have usable information. In the last month of a quarter, it would sometimes take the food bank up to 2.5 weeks (100 hours) to complete all of their required reporting.
A network fully unified for the first time
The Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank implemented Link2Feed’d food bank client software across their network to unify their partners on one system and streamline data collection and reporting.
Link2Feed’s expansive program tracking options allow FRFB’s partners to track all of their programs in one place; everything from TEFAP pantries to community meals and school programs. This has eliminated the need for the food bank to collate disparate data sets and has significantly increased agency capacity for data collection and reporting.
Link2Feed’s food bank client software helps staff to focus on mission-oriented work
The real-time reporting tools in Link2Feed’s food bank client software have reduced the time spent in reporting from an average of 40-100 hours per month to mere minutes.
This significant time savings has allowed staff to focus more on mission-oriented work and sharing their story in the community.
“Link2Feed has completely changed my job. I no longer have to spend hours pulling my hair out waiting for raw data or trying to manually create reports. I just go into the system and with a couple clicks, I have all the data I need with beautiful charts and graphs. I’m so much happier in my work because I’m able to increase our impact in the community instead of sitting behind spreadsheets.” – Atiye Chappell, Development Coordinator- Network and Info Systems, Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank
