"I went to tour the Pelican Rapids food pantry and saw this amazing computer ware system, and said, 'We need this!'" exclaimed the Pantry's Director Brad Carlson.
The system is known as "Pantry SaverTM" and it's a Minnesota-based software program designed specifically for food shelves. It has modules for client data entry that can take into account the myriad of situations Food Pantry volunteers encounter daily, such as tracking new addresses and new family members.
The current Excel sheet with client data contains over 8,200 names, and with elderly computers and little memory, a search for client information can take up to 15 minutes.
Tracking is required as families may visit only once per month, and a confidential register of clients is required by the USDA to ensure donations are distributed in accordance to their regulations. Keeping tabs on the donations that come in, both monetary and food, are streamlined and automated with the new system. Food can simply be placed on the digital scale and it's in the system.
"We get thousands of pounds food donated each year, and tracking all of it with paper and an adding machine is labor-intensive, to say the least," said Carlson.
The amount of food leaving the pantry with clients is also tracked with each cart pushed onto a scale. The readout of pounds is automatically entered into the system. This will also allow for real-time monitoring of donations and help pantry volunteers in predicting the amount of food that will be needed in future orders.
All in all, "It's a win-win for our volunteers and clients. The whole experience will be more efficient and pleasant for everyone," said Carlson.
A total of $9,500 was raised to purchase new computers and software, and to cover the cost of annual licensing fees and volunteer training.
According to board member Jackie Buboltz, "Every business and organization we asked for support for this special project recognized the true value of it and donated. The generosity of our community for the Food Pantry is exceptional, and we can't thank them enough for their support."
