Houston Food Bank is one of the largest food banks in the United States, distributing more than 800,000 pounds of food per day. Residents of 18 counties depend on Houston Food Bank and when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, applications for services soared.
From March 2020 to March 2021, the Houston Food Bank distributed food and other essentials to approximately 131,683 households on average per week through a network of 1,500 community partners. At that time, intake processes were paper-based, so a person applying would have to go to their location and fill out a form, then a volunteer would manually type in the form into their system. Their leadership team quickly realized that they needed to update processes to be more efficient and safer for team members and the people they serve.
They knew they needed a long term solution that could scale with their organization, thinking about ongoing needs past COVID-19. After an attempt with QR codes, Houston Food Bank decided to develop a mass text messaging system for check-in and distribution that allows people to register for services and programs and easily refer others in their community through Mobilize.
When a person arrives for services, they simply send a text to a toll-free number. Depending on what the person’s needs are, they will receive a text back with information or a custom link to fill out a form. Because Houston is a thriving multi-cultural center, it is crucial that people can get the help they need no matter their first language. Therefore, messages are composed and sent in English and Spanish, so English-preferred clients will receive instructions in English and Spanish-preferred clients will receive the message in Spanish, etc. so recipients immediately understand the communication and the next steps, such as program intake, directions to a facility, or surveys.
Because of the centralized client data, a phone number is associated with a client record so when a person uses their phone to check in for distribution, their past information is prompted for them to confirm and not duplicated each time they arrive.
In the 90-day period of July 1 to September 30, 2020, over 34,000 clients received messages from Houston Food Bank through the Mobilize platform, with over 155,000 messages sent or received during that same time.
It was important to Houston Food Bank to customize their workflows using the tool for their specific needs. Getting the right information at the right time in a way that is understandable and actionable is critical in a time when so many families are experiencing food insecurity.
Mobilize provides data collection and SMS/MMS messaging services for the Houston Food Bank, streamlining communications throughout this huge network of services so more people get the help they need without delay. Could this be a solution for your team? Learn more or reach out.
