We haven’t updated the website much lately – but that isn’t because there hasn’t been a lot going on! To catch things up, here is a quick summary of of our big news from 2011:
1. Our Hunger Hunters mobile food pantry sites provided about 120,000 pounds of food to people in need on the south side of Grand Rapids, serving about 151 households (about 609 people) per month.
2. We implemented computerized intake at our Campau mobile site, giving clients better faster service, and opening up a whole new range of opportunities for improving our understanding of the people we serve.
3. Findafoodpantry.org‘s database hit 10,000 programs – and the site provided information to over 9,000 unique visitors! At current rates, we expect the site to help around 18,000 people find food assistance in 2012.
4. We wrapped up the landfill project with a look at food waste on the retail level in West Michigan. We’ve already shared our findings with Feeding America West Michigan, and are working hard on putting together a final report for release to the public. Spoiler: There’s a lot of recoverable food out there!
On top of that, we’ve got a number of new opportunities waiting in the wings for 2012, so stay tuned – the best is yet to come!