Food banks have unique distribution needs.
Distributors in the emergency food sector, such as food banks, food rescue groups, and meals-on-wheels organizations, have distinctive characteristics in their supply chains. These can include:
- Heavily donated inbound product. Receiving is often unplanned, with high variability in quantities and timing. A large portion of the inbound volume must be sorted to determine what can be used. As a result, operations require more space than a for-profit distributor would need for comparable volumes.
- Volunteers are an important part of the labor pool. Sorting, storage and distribution processes need to be simple, safe and efficient when they involve volunteers. Labor shortages for food banks can be an ongoing challenge that warehouse optimization and additional technology can help alleviate.
- Providing healthier food and reducing waste are common goals, and both put pressure on cold chain and efficiency during processing and distribution.
- Orders are often more supply-driven than demand-driven, so organizations need to know a lot about their agencies and clients to deliver the right food at the right time.
- Organizations fundraise to support capital and operating expenses, so it can be difficult to fund improvements in facilities and technology.
