In December 2023 and January 2024, Community Food Share launched a new intake system. Under our Neighbor Experience Initiative, we are implementing Service Insights on Meal Connect (SIMC), a program developed by Feeding America to streamline our services and better understand the needs of our community. This initiative is a part of our ongoing effort to ensure everyone in our community has access to the food they need, in a way that respects their time and dignity.

The intake system involves asking our Neighbors questions related to their household, food access, and dietary restrictions, which are entered into SIMC. Each Neighbor receives a check-in-tag, like a library card or grocery store loyalty card, equipped with a barcode or QR code. This allows Community Food Share to create a quick and easy check-in experience, which helps our lines move faster and gives us the information we need to better serve our Neighbors. One of our amazing partners in Longmont, The Round Pantry, a food pantry run by a team of amazing volunteers at the Westview Presbyterian Church, also launched SIMC in January 2024.

WHAT WE ASSUMED

Community Food Share runs a mobile pantry in the Westview Presbyterian parking lot on the first and third Tuesday and Thursday every month. The Round Pantry holds a food distribution on the second and fourth Tuesday in the same location. We didn’t know, but assumed there would be a large amount of crossover between Neighbors accessing food through the Round Pantry and through Community Food Share’s Westview Mobile Pantry.

WHAT WE LEARNED

By integrating SIMC, we can see the number of unique households at each site. The SIMC platform automatically calculates the number of unique households without sharing individual household information. We now know what the overlap in the population is at each location and are surprised by the lack of overlap we see. Only 14%

of neighbors who attended Round Pantry at least once also attended Westview Mobile pantry at least once. The overlap is much less than we expected. This data reveals that despite proximity, different groups in our community have distinct needs and schedules that influence their food access points.

 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Looking closer, we found that more households with working age adults are attending Round Pantry while more households with retirement age adults attend Westview Mobile Pantry. We believe the difference in the hours both pantries run is a huge driver of the different people’s ability to access them. Round pantry runs from 2-6pm, serving working families and those with other obligations during working hours. CFS Westview Mobile Pantry runs from 11-12:30 in the winter. A single working mother shared with us that, while she could attend The Round Pantry after her workday, she found other pantries’ operating hours clashed with her job, preventing her from accessing their services.

WHY IT MATTERS

Part of community food share’s mission is to increase access to food, so no one in our community goes hungry. By understanding the high demand for pantries with later hours, we can begin to look at the hours of our other pantries and strategize with our partners in other communities to create accessible pantry hours for working families in each community. Informed by the identified need for extended service hours, Community Food Share adjusted the operating times of their Feeding Families pantry in Louisville to 12-6pm on Thursdays, a significant shift from the previous 9-3pm schedule.

 

HOW YOU CAN HELP

· Imagine being a part of a movement that ensures no one in our community goes hungry. Consider donating, volunteering, or simply spreading the word to help us reach more families in need. We’re currently seeking enthusiastic individuals to undergo SIMC training and assist with intake at both Westview Mobile Pantry and The Round Pantry. Other volunteer opportunities are also available. Your contribution could make a significant difference. You can get more information and sign up with Round pantry at https://westviewpres.org/round-pantry-welcome.

To learn more about volunteering with our Mobile Pantries Program and how you can support our Community Experience Initiative, click here to read our blog post on our volunteering as part of the Initiative.

Sign up to train using the SIMC system, supporting Community Food Share, The Round Pantry, and other organizations in our community here.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS

· Do you have a question? Would you like to share your experience with our new intake system? We’d love to have your help in hearing more about the diversity of experiences at our programs. We’re particularly interested in hearing your thoughts on how we can make our services even more accessible and efficient. Reach out to us at research@communityfoodshare.org

· We invite you to follow our blog, where we regularly share the transformative changes and enhancements driven by data and feedback. Look forward to posts with stories from our community that bring the impact of your contributions to life. Please engage with

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