Creating a Mobile Pantry Pilot

Program

By Elise Gruber

Rationale

• Food insecurity– Periodic inaccess to healthy, affordable foods– Adverse consequences– 1/6 (48.8 million) people in the U.S. – South Carolina...18% of population (4.5 million)

areas of North Charleston = urban food desert

Federal Solutions to Food Insecurity

• Let’s Move Campaign• Healthy Moves Financing Initiative

– Department of Treasure, Agriculture, and Health and Human Services

Community Solutions to Food Insecurity

• Additional grocery chain location• Food co-op• Community Garden• Mobile Pantry Program

– Lowcountry Food Bank

Lowcountry Food Bank

• 10 counties– Varying demographics, resources, poverty

rates• Over 300 partnering agencies• Evolving mobile pantry program

– Currently used on a limited basis within North Charleston community

Senior Thesis ProcessResearch Question: What is the best practice for the Lowcountry Food Bank’s mobile pantry program considering the current available funds and resources, targeted communities, and distribution gaps?

MethodologyLowcountry Food Bank 2012 Statistics:

– operational budget- $4,424,000 – annual distribution- 18.7 millions pounds of food

products

• Work through Feeding America network to find food banks with similar size and budget (155 FA affiliated mobile pantry programs)

• Annual budget: 3-6 million dollars• Annual distribution: 15-25 million pounds• Existing mobile pantry program

• 6 food banks total

Conducted interviews with…• Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee

(Knoxville, TN)• Montgomery Area Food Bank (Montgomery,

AL)• Harvest Hope Food Bank (Columbia, SC)• Blue Ridge Area Food Bank (Verona, VA)• Gleaners Food Bank (Indianapolis, IN)• Inner-Faith Food Shuttle (Raleigh, NC)

Findings and Trends within Mobile Pantry Programs

Surveyed• Multiple definitions and applications of mobile

pantry programs• Have the ability to compose 1/5 of food banks total

distribution (distributing up to 3.4 million pounds annually)

» Montgomery Area Food Bank

• Require additional staff to be successful• Does not consistently use the same source of

product– Prominent use of donated product, with additional

purchased product (produce typically) to supplement» Montgomery Area Food Bank, Blue Ridge Area Food

Bank, Gleaners

Lowcountry Food Bank Mission and Model

The Lowcountry Food Bank mobile pantry program will distribute donated food product to underserved target areas through recurring community distributions coordinated in part by local partners and funded by grants.

Recommendations for Mobile Pantry Pilot

Program…Should initially…

-have roughly 100 distributions annually (8-10/month)-use retail/manufactured product procured by donations or at highly reduced costs

• supplement with VAP as needed>>Blue Ridge Area Food Bank

-provide min. ~6% of annual distribution (1,122,000 lbs.)- ~5% of annual operational budget ($212,100)

Projected Statistics for Lowcountry Food Bank’s Mobile Pantry Program

Percent of Total Pounds Distributed (6%)

Total pounds distributed throughLCFB

Total distributed through LCFBmobile pantry program

Projected Statistics for Lowcountry Food Bank’s Mobile Pantry Program

Percent of Annual Operational Budget (5%)

Annual operating expenses ofLCFB

Annual budget of LCFB mobilepantry program

Recommended Distribution Schedule

and Scope• 8-10 distributions monthly– Provision for night and weekend distribution– Anticipated 2-3 hour distribution (not including travel time)– Recommend against drop-off/pick-up delivery method

• Unneeded transportation costs

• Recurring sites (Membership Development in Underserved Areas)– Targeted Counties: Jasper, Hampton, Colleton, and

Williamsburg>>Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, Gleaners Food Bank

Recommended Financial Structure

Because nature of mission (targeting areas with high need, low service, and low resources available)…

– Relying primarily on• grants• Sponsor distributions• Cost share fee

– Distribution sponsorships and cost share fees will become more accessible as mobile pantry program gains recognition…

– Preliminary expenses of program be covered primarily by grants and annual operational budget

**Staffing Need: if relying heavily on grants to finance mobile pantry distributions, the LCFB would need to devote additional attention (resources and staffing) to creating grant applications on behalf of this program

Projected Food Procurement Needs

Pursue underdeveloped, accessible, & economic venues

-donations from local warehouse and retail distributors

-supplement with VAP products -supplement with collecting, overlooked

warehouse product

***pursuing these venues requires additional staffing and resources focused on procurement

Projected Resources Required for Food and Funding Procurement

• ADDITIONAL STAFFINGDistribution staff– Agency relationship team: build relationships between potential

community sponsors/agencies*allow additional avenues of program funding*programs become tool to instigate partnerships

– Cooking/nutrition demo periodically at distributions: educate about uses and preparation of unfamiliar food products being served

*allow program’s use of slow moving product, typically unfamiliar and unused by clientele

– SNAP/WIC application solicitor periodically at distributions: enroll eligible members of targeted community to federal food assistance programs*redirect portion of community’s need to available federal relief programs

Handling staff- Handle and determine viable donated food products

*ensuring quality of the food dispensed through food bank/pantry program (greater procured food product requires greater warehouse capacity)

>>Gleaners, Montgomery Area Food Bank, Inner-Faith Shuttle, Harvest Hope Food Bank

Projected Resources Required for Food Procurement

Strategies• Additional distribution equipment: trucks

and drivers *trucks and drivers available to pick up product procured via community partners*refrigerated truck for donated produce and perishable products nearing expiration*need can at times be inconsistent with LCFB’s hours of operation

Recommended Community Partner Initiatives

• Agency development program: allows gradual transition from community organizations to sponsoring, partnering agency

1st 12 months of distributions: program hosts mobile pantry events free of charge13th-18th month: 25-50% partnering distribution fee

requested following 19th month: full partnering agency fee

Gleaners Food Bank, Montgomery Area Food Bank, Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, Harvest Hope Food Bank

Recommended Community Partner Initiative

• Distribute through federal and local government agencies (County Commissioners office, DHHS, County Housing Agencies, etc)– First demonstrates benefits of mobile pantry program– Also allows pursuit of county-level grants available to

sponsor the mobile pantry program*pursue atypical clientele

>>Montgomery Area Food Bank

Recommended Sponsorship Strategies

• Sponsorship program directed towards community organizations- community organizations such as churches, high schools, rotary club, etc directly sponsor a mobile pantry distribution event- source of seed money

**Not recommended as primary funding for LCFB mobile pantry program…

• Inconsistent source of funding for distributions in high-need areas>>Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee

Implications• Program has capacity to distribute 1,122,000

pounds its first year (6% of distributions) • Allows allocation of pounds to areas with high

need and limited community resources– Assist in fulfillment of FA and USDA’s distribution

requirements• Can be used as a tool to instigate agency

partnerships– Fosters agency development in low service areas

Limitations• The number of food banks analyzed• Relatively limited understanding of the

Lowcountry Food Bank’s structure and capacity

Questions?

Thank you for your time!

Extra Thank you to..– Ms. Ava Young– Ms. Carol Hurt– Ms. Anna Hamilton