Peterborough Foodbank reacted quickly to the Covid-19 pandemic, using digital technology to cope with the dramatic increase in demand – quickly getting food parcels to those who needed it the most within their community.
“The demand for food in the community went through the roof - we saw an increase in demand of 180% for the children we were feeding,” says Peterborough Foodbank manager, Juliet Welch.
“It was very challenging and while lots of people, businesses and churches were donating, a lot of our volunteers were over 70 and had to step back. We needed to deliver food parcels to people’s homes, which was new. We were using an Excel spreadsheet, which was limited.”
Husband and technology consultant for Precisely, Phil Welch, says: “I recognised the logistics of the delivery from a spreadsheet was not working so I became her client and we managed the project using the Confirm app for free.”
It came under increased pressure as there was a 70% increase in the number of food vouchers issued – a symptom of many people being furloughed or laid off from work – while many of its ageing volunteers were suddenly unable to help due to the need to stay at home. Social distancing also made it difficult to hand over the food parcels face-to-face.
Juliet says this created a logistical challenge that was hard to meet through its traditional reliance on spreadsheets; but it was able to harness Precisely’s Confirm asset management platform to get its operations on track.
Supported by Precisely, the foodbank quickly ran a project to get the data in order, keep a record of donations and configure the platform to coordinate the activities of the volunteers who could work at its headquarters or make deliveries. It then began to use it in coordinating its allocations and delivery schedule.
The project proved a success, with the volunteers quickly taking to the system through a mobile phone app, and the group being able to track and trace the progress of the food parcels to individuals and families.
Learn more about Peterborough Foodbank’s adoption of Confirm by watching the video below:
Pitney Bowes Software and Data are now Precisely. To learn more about Confirm, Precisely’s solution for smart infrastructure management, please visit: https://www.precisely.com/product/precisely-confirm/confirm
