The need
One in six San Diegans struggle with food insecurity. The majority of the residents struggling to find enough food are children, elderly and the working poor. And when they do have access to food, many choose inexpensive food options that are high in sodium and sugar. In fact, the Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties’ most recent Community Health Needs Assessment identified food insecurity and lack of access to healthy food as the top social determinants of health contributing to the rise in diabetes and obesity.
1 in 6 San Diegans struggle with food insecurity
The situation
While the San Diego Food Bank’s Food Security Network provides food, there are opportunities to improve the Network’s productivity. People coming for food face long lines, some waiting for hours. Siloed agencies also mean people have to repeatedly complete intake forms and share their personal information.
The pilot program
In 2014 the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank launched a program that modernizes and streamlines the collection of data from recipients, eliminating registration redundancies and drastically reducing wait times. Clients are issued a simple, personalized food ID card that they can use at multiple San Diego Food Bank sites without having to provide basic household information or complete duplicate paperwork.
Food Bank provides food to 370K San Diegans every month. Last year the Food Bank distributed 28M pounds of food, 34% of which was fresh produce.
The future
UnitedHealthcare awarded the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank a $375,000 grant to help them expand their database pilot program. Currently used with much success at 82 Food Bank sites, the grant will allow the Food Bank to add an additional 50 sites and support the delivery of more than 10 million pounds of food while improving client experience across multiple bank locations and connect people to vital social services.
