John Bailey, CEO of the Regina Food Bank, shares with Data for Good the challenges and opportunities with their data.

1. FROM CRISIS TO
OPPORTUNITY
Regina Food Banks Data for Good Presentation

2. Pre-Pandemic
FULFILLED 87,356 CLIENT
REQUESTS FOR SERVICE LAST YEAR
ALONE
DISTRIBUTED 3,218,435
POUNDS OF FOOD VALUED
AT $8,367,931
15.5 FTE OF VOLUNTEER HOURS

3. Since Pandemic
TOTAL PEOPLE SERVED UP 46%
OVERALL (PEAK 105% IN JUNE)
40% MORE HAMPERS DISTRIBUTED WAIT TIME TO RECEIVE A HAMPER
REDUCED TO LESS THAN 5 DAYS, 1 DAY
IF YOU ACCESS DRIVE THRU

4. Critical Question
Our services were always intended to be temporary. Yet, since our inception in the 1982 food insecurity
has continued to grow with Covid-19 exposing the depth and fragility of food insecurity in Regina. Thanks
to the generosity of Saskatchewan people, with no government operational funding, the FB feeds between
10,000 and 12,000 people a month, 43 percent of which are children.
How can we use data to help inform development of a service model that increases access to food and
ensures that no one needs to face hunger alone?

5. The Possibility
◦ COVID 19 has forced wholistic changes in the way the world operates. This is true of those serving our cities most vulnerable.
The ongoing economic and health consequences of the pandemic will have impacts on our operations for years to come.
◦ Our organization was in the process of developing decentralized delivery prior to the pandemic. Our efforts have been
accelerated out of necessity to safely meet the increased demand we are seeing in our community.
◦ Our development plan is a step-based approach that allows us to test and refine our service delivery model and create long
lasting partnerships with individuals and companies in the community that share our vision of a caring community.

6. Current Delivery Models
Doorstep Delivery
◦ Internal capacity coupled with higher level of
convenience and safety for those we serve
makes this a bedrock of delivery.
◦ Capacity constraints make current scaling
unsustainable.
◦ There is opportunity to leverage this capacity
to continue to serve those who do not have
access to transportation
Drive Thru
◦ Onsite delivery in a contactless manner.
◦ Dependent on client having access to
transportation
◦ Currently scalable to 2-2.7x current volume

7. Models We Are Exploring
Pop Up Locations
◦ Scheduled delivery sites. Outside of scheduled
delivery times the Food Bank would have no
physical presence
◦ No permanent delivery infrastructure required.
◦ Anticipated that internal capital capacity will be
in place by January.
◦ These sites may develop into long term and
sustainable options for decentralized delivery.
Decentralized Hub
◦ Through partnership and food bank operations
consistent operations are develop in
communities at highest need.
◦ This step decreases barriers to access in a
profound way and enables sustainability of
delivery.
◦ Partners support system navigation to ensure
supported access to services.
◦ Investment in infrastructure likely need to baked
into business case.

8. Available Data
◦ Validated breakdown of the locations that require service (raw data, heat map, etc).
◦ Output volumes (food, total hampers, etc)
◦ Interactions (avg number of visits, time between visits, etc)
◦ Informal surveys of current users and capacity to deliver project specific questions.
◦ Raw demographic data of current users.
◦ Publicly available data (census, bus routes, regional forecasts, etc)

9. Missing Pieces
◦ Strong forecasting models (purchasing patterns, food reclamation targets).
◦ Sophisticated demand models layering demographic insights (projected seniors, new Canadian growth rates, intercity
migration) with analysis of previous economic downturn or shutdowns on precariously employed in Regina.
◦ Modeling of which geographic areas of the city are underserved, or most underserved. Which areas of the city are most
isolated from service if you don’t have access to a vehicle.
◦ Data collection planning. Is there a strategy we can develop that guides the type of data we collect?