Chapter 1, Problem 2ASC

Feeding America

Each year, the Feeding America network helps provide food to more than 46 million people facing hunger in the United States, including 12 million children and 7 million seniors. Through 61,000 food pantries, 200 food banks, and innumerable community meal programs, the Feeding America network provides more than 3.7 billion meals to individuals and families in need. The non-profit accomplishes its goals by working closely with manufacturers, retailers, communities and farmers across the nation. The logistics of collecting, sorting and distributing donated food (with limited shelf life) to a widespread base of needy customers is challenging. To respond to this challenge, Feeding America has created several online connection tools to match donors and recipients, such as Produce MatchMakers and Online Marketplace (funded by Google), and has partnered with the Food Waste Reduction Alliance to divert 2.6 billion pounds of food headed to landfills to more than 2 billion meals for people in need. Feeding America has further partnered with organizations and government programs such as Kids Café and Summer Food Service Programs, School Backpack programs, the Rural Child Hunger Capacity Institute, and the Child Hunger Corps to distribute food to children in need. A peer-to-peer benchmarking report prepared by a store chain spurred a 14% increase in retail donations over the previous year.

Feeding America also provides monetary grants to local food pantries to support storing and distributing food, processing applicants, and educating recipients on how to prepare and serve the food in healthy ways. The group seeks to build the capacity of food banks to prepare for and respond to natural disasters and to aid in stabilizing communities post-disaster. For example, thousands of pounds of supplies were positioned along Hurricane Sandy’s path to provide immediate access to food and water at food pantries, emergency shelters, and soup kitchens. Feeding America operates a high-volume, sophisticated food distribution network through its food banks with advanced technology and food distribution software from eSoftware Professionals. Even so, donor and recipient operations are staffed by more than 2 million volunteers in communities across the nation.

Feeding America excels on both the supply and demand side—exploring new food sourcing models and finding innovative ways to distribute the food where and when it is needed. The organization works with professional staff, volunteers, corporations, and community centers to source and deliver a better life to its constituents. This is an example of how operations and supply chain management tools can be used to alleviate major societal problems.

What is difficult about balancing supply and demand for this non-profit? Looking at the range of topics covered in the textbook, what skills in operations and supply chain management would be useful?