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There are many ways to serve our neighbors with dignity. Before the COVID 19 pandemic, neighbors came to the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry to shop for food with the help of a volunteer. Their ability to personally select which food they wanted respected their choices. However, this model did not greatly respect their time. Because of the high number of people visiting the pantry, neighbors often waited 30 – 60 minutes before shopping for food. For many neighbors, time was (and still is) literally money. Waiting this long meant lost wages and added unnecessary stress.
The pandemic forced adaptation. Pantry operations transitioned from in-person shopping to a drive-thru model to keep up with the escalating demand for food. As demand grew even higher, pantry staff needed to adapt again to reduce neighbors’ wait times for food. View the pantry’s usage here: Food Pantry Use by Month.
With help from two volunteers, pantry staff reduced food delivery time by 50% in 2025. New pantry software now provides increased food choice and speedy delivery for neighbors.
Yoshio Leeper, Food Pantry Coordinator, at the pantry check-in station holding a registration card
On the first pantry day of January 2025, we launched a new client registration system. It was a slow-going process on day one and, as the line of waiting cars in the street became dangerously long, we almost postponed. But, we survived the launch, and now, after five months of the new system, neighbors are seeing the dividends!
Our goal in implementing the “Bob Software” (affectionately named after local software developer Bob Braier, who generously donated the program) was to use better data to improve quality and speed of neighbor service. I’m happy to report that both of these goals are being met. First, more robust data helps us have better conversations with families during check-in to tailor service. We can now ask questions like, “You marked your family as pescatarian, can we bring you a fish bag?” or “Last time you mentioned you don’t have a kitchen, can we bring out extra ready-to-eat foods today?” Second, the new system includes barcoded cards for all pantry neighbors. Approximately 80% of families using our pantry now have these cards. With a card in hand, check-in is as quick as a scan of a barcode. There is dignity in food choice, of course, and there is also dignity in expeditious service—we are glad to offer the latter for busy families with little time to spare.
The speed of check-in, and customization of service, will only continue to improve as more families register and receive new cards. We are proud to have a culture of adaptation and thankful for all of the volunteers who’ve worked alongside us building this system.
Yoshio Leeper
Food Pantry Coordinator