Early insights from Massachusetts show promising pathways for using Medicaid dollars to treat food and nutrition insecurity, but underscore that technology will be a big challenge. Hunger relief entities in Massachusetts got extra incentive to continue exploring ways to work with the healthcare community in September, when the state’s MassHealth…
Posts published in “Technology”
When Gary Oppenheimer, Founder and Executive Director of AmpleHarvest.org, set out to expand food access in Native American reservations, he ended up focusing on a few small details that made all the difference. Oppenheimer had built up a large database of more than 8,000 food pantries across the country, as…
People who are new to the charitable food system often experience a fundamental problem when they try to access it – they don’t know where to go for help. A neighborhood might be populated with pantries, but these often operate out of basements or side doors, with little to no…
Wheel a cart around any grocery store in a large metropolitan area these days, and you’ll run into workers who are shopping on behalf of people who’ve placed orders from home. These digital sales make up just 11.2% of the U.S. grocery market, but rapid adoption is expected to nearly…
When Greater Vancouver Food Bank decided to do away with traditional food drives, it was perfectly clear about why. It proclaimed on social media and its website that up to 30% of the food it received from food drives was spoiled, damaged or unsafe to eat. In addition, it said,…
Struggle often breeds innovation, a concept that Jeremy Cooley, CEO of Tangelo, an online e-commerce platform, understands. Cooley made it his mission to highlight the importance of nutritious food after 2017, when his father was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given six months to live. After proper nutrition helped extend…
More food pantries are finding reasons to love online ordering. Online ordering systems empower clients to choose their food in a high-tech format, just as they would through Instacart, giving them a more dignified and convenient way to access charitable food. It’s a big step up from more traditional “grab-and-go”…
Technology nonprofit mRelief has already helped people access nearly $1 billion in SNAP benefits since its inception, and now it is looking to food banks nationwide to help it unlock even more funds. The Chicago-based firm, founded in 2014, specializes in increasing awareness of SNAP and simplifying the bulky process…
A color-coded map is helping food pantries across the nation get the food aid they need when they need it. Souper Bowl of Caring launched the Tackle Hunger Map at the beginning of the pandemic as a way to show the “real-time need” of food charities across the United States.…