In the realm of accessing the charitable food system, newcomers often face a significant challenge – they lack knowledge about where to seek assistance. Pantries may exist within their neighborhoods, but locating them proves difficult as they often operate inconspicuously from basements or side entrances without proper signage. While conducting a web search seems like a natural solution, a significant percentage of pantries have no online presence, exacerbating the issue.

This is where the importance of “find food” maps provided by large food banks becomes evident. These maps play a crucial role by offering up-to-date information about pantry hours, locations, and detailed descriptions of the types of food and additional services available. They also keep clients informed about any potential changes in service. The Greater Chicago Food Depository, in collaboration with the Thierer Family Foundation, has achieved such a comprehensive offering through the creation of Vivery, an interactive food finder that represents the next generation of food-finding tools. Users can easily search for specific information, such as the location of a hot meal on a Monday within a particular zip code, and they can perform these searches in English or Spanish.

The Greater Chicago Food Depository is just one example of many food banks that have stepped up their efforts to assist people in finding food. For instance, the Houston Food Bank has developed an app that allows individuals to schedule pantry appointments and an interactive food finder that supports searches based on specific days and program types (such as senior food or college pantry).

At the Capital Area Food Bank, their food finder employs a color coded system to indicate whether pantries are currently open, opening later in the day, or open on another day. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Community Food Bank enables people to either text “findfood” or visit their website to search for pantries based on drive time.

Tech providers are also joining the cause. Google introduced new search features last year to simplify the process of finding food banks, pantries, and SNAP benefits. Similarly, FindFood.Guide emphasizes the application of human-centered design principles.

The need for improved food finding in Chicago caught the attention of the Thierer Family Foundation during the pandemic when it became evident that people were traveling farther than necessary to access food. Simultaneously, the Greater Chicago Food Depository faced challenges in keeping accurate and up-to-date information about pantry hours and locations.

Nasrin Thierer, the Founder of the Thierer Family Foundation, explained that Vivery was created to help individuals find food that is both relevant to them and nearby. One key feature of Vivery is the ability for clients to sign up for text messages from pantries through the food finder, providing them with notifications about service changes. For example, if promised items like eggs didn’t arrive or if a pantry had to close due to inclement weather, people would receive advance notice. Thierer emphasized the importance of staying connected with pantries, with text messaging playing a vital role.

Vivery also tackles the challenge of ensuring accurate pantry information by granting pantries ownership of their profiles on the finder, allowing them to easily update their information through user-friendly tools.

Since implementing Vivery approximately a year ago, the Greater Chicago Food Depository has observed increased engagement in food finding. Additionally, enhanced data analytics capabilities have provided the organization with valuable insights into who is searching for what and where, as well as the level of success achieved in finding food.

The Thierer Family Foundation is now making the Vivery platform available to food banks nationwide at minimal to no cost. They have already begun working with other food banks in Illinois to implement the tool. Thierer expressed excitement about expanding its reach to as many food banks as possible, aiming to assist individuals in need across the country.