Using Data at Your Pantry, and Advocating for PASS Funding

Peer Learning Circle Recap

Thanks to everyone who came to Friday's Peer Learning Circle. With more than 30 people in attendance, participants combed through mounds of data that various organizations have collected over the years. There is still a lot for all of us to learn, and MAHN always looking for new ideas on how to use surveys, technology, and our own institutional knowledge to improve our communities.

Key Takeaways
One great benefit of the Peer Learning Circle was the opportunity to clarify what surveys are out there, and talk about them using the same terms. The two main surveys participants discussed were:

Pantry CLIENT Survey – a survey your pantry can administer to gather data on your clients. Liz Peteraf (formerly of Catholic Social Services in Norristown) will be leading the outreach and providing technical assistance starting in December. If interested in conducing the survey, contact her at lizpeteraf13@gmail.com.
Pantry COORDINATOR Survey – an organizational capacity survey to be conducted by the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger with about 700 pantries in the region, including in Montgomery County. Diana Reighart (dreighart@hungercoalition.org) from the Coalition will be in touch with more info early in 2017.

The Peer Learning Cirlce also discussed the benefits of the Pantry CLIENT Survey. You can use the survey data to:

Know more about your clients
Plan your programming to better meeting the needs of your clients
Improve operations, shift inventory based on client preferences and/or dietary needs
Better educate donors and prospective donors on who is coming to your pantry and their situations

Finally, we discussed various client tracking systems that pantries across the county are using to gather data about their clients. Some of the systems include:

Member Track – used by Chelten Seeds of Hope pantry in Dresher. Contact Sandy Knight (sknight@chelten.org) for more details.
Clarity – soon to be used by Keystone Opportunity Center (Contact Rich Aichele at eraichele@keystoneopp.org) in Souderton and Ada Mutch food pantry (Contact Lisa Schilansky at lschilansky@eldernetonline.org) at Elder Net in Bryn Mawr. Montgomery County uses Clarity for its Your Way Home program for people experiencing homelessness. For more information on Clarity at the county, contact Kayleigh Silver at ksilver@montcopa.org.
SmartChoice Pantry Database (by Analytic Solutions) – used by Mitzvah Food Pantry (Contact Dierdre Mulligan at dmulligan@jfgp.org) and Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities (Contact Vicky Bumstead at vbumstead@pottstowncluster.org), soon to be used by Manna. More of an inventory tracking system. Contact Richard Blaustein (rblaustein@analyticsolutions.com) or Keri Edwards (kedwards@analyticsolutions.com) at Analytic Solutions and at 267-225-5190.

PASS and SFPP Funding Advocacy

There is now a sign-on letter for individuals supporting an increase in funding for the State Food Purchase Program (SFPP) and Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System (PASS). You can read more about these programs on the Philabundance blog.

You all know that the food we collectively provide to our communities is vital; now we need to make sure our elected representatives know this, too. We can represent and amplify the voices of the people we serve!

Please take 60 seconds to sign a letter to Governor Wolf advocating for increased funding for these programs.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE LETTER AND TAKE ACTION

Save the Date

Ready our not, 2017 is right around the corner! I hope everyone can reserve May 12, 2017 for our Third Annual MAHN Conference. We're looking forward to presenting another high-quality keynote speaker that can frame the work all of you are doing and inspire us to do more for our communities.

COALITIONS: AROUND THE COUNTY

The Eastern MontCo Pantry Coalition will meet at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, December 9 at the Willow Grove Seventh Day Adventist Church, 1576 Fairview Avenue, Willow Grove, PA. Contact Pat Druhan at pdruhan@cadcom.org to get information about upcoming meetings.

The InterCounty Food Network will meet in early 2017. For more information, contact Monica Oswald at foodcupboard@theopenlink.org.

The Nutrition Coalition will meet in early 2017. Contact Britt Peterson for more information at Britt@mannaonmain.org.

Advocates Against Hunger will meet in early 2017. Contact Kary LaFors at AdvocatesAHLaFors@aol.com for more information.

The Main Line Coalition will meet in early 2017. Contact Pat Druhan at pdruhan@cadcom.org to get information about upcoming meetings.

That’s all, thanks everyone!

MAHN Newsletter, December 2016
For more information, contact montcoantihungernetwork@gmail.com
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