This year, because of reduced government support and higher food costs, we anticipate greater need than ever for emergency food. One way we are preparing to respond to this growing need is by adapting ‘Lean process improvement’ techniques.
Lean process improvement is a business approach that focuses on adding activities that add customer value and eliminating activities that don’t. In October our main warehouse staff spent a day in lean process training. Our team came up with more than 130 ideas to improve one single process, of which 62 were determined to have high impact and low implementation difficulty. The team set a 30-day action plan, which is now in the works. We are already seeing results.
Our ultimate goal is to double the amount of food we can distribute within our current warehouse infrastructure. We know this is a lofty goal, but we also know that we need to do more to help the nearly 1300 pantries, shelters, soup kitchens and community agencies that depend on us for food.
| 30th Anniversary Gala goes retro, moves us forward Scores of Food Bank supporters slipped into ‘80s garb and gathered to celebrate the Food Bank’s 1981 founding at the “Don’t Stop Believin’” Gala on October 14. The popular ‘80s band Starfarm headlined the evening at Noto’s Old World Banquet Center in Grand Rapids. The event netted approximately $42,000 for Food Bank programs. |
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