Seven-Step Problem Solving
Step 1
What is the problem?
Problem: There is not enough food bank donations
Step 2
How can we get a better understanding of the problem?
Stakeholders
Stakeholders- People in need of food, Donators, volunteers, transportation, packaging companies, workers, schools.
Root Cause
There isn't a lot of involvment
awareness with getting food donations.
5 Why's
What's being done?
Food drives are being held in local schools and other communities to help get donations and spread the word. Places like Saint Mary’s Food Bank accept any volunteer work and welcome anyone willing to help with the process of getting food for people whether that is in packaging or advertising. They also have different programs such as Mobile Pantry, Hungry Hero’s, Emergency Box, etc. All of these different braches help being people food whether they can make it to a Saint Mary’s Food Bank location or not. There are food banks all over Arizona as well as all over the country.
Step 3
What does the world look like without the problem?
I am glad to live in a world were food can be enjoyed. The community as I see it is more involved in lending a helping hand in the process or food donation and packaging. More families around the United States get to enjoy the delights of a meal and go to bed with a full stomach. School food donations boxes are no longer empty but instead, they are overflowing with different assortments of food donations. Mobile Pantry’s will make their ways through cities delivering food to those who can’t make it to the food bank. Those who can make it to the food bank will line up to get their fair share of food assortments. More and more families will be taking a part in helping out as there is even more community involvement. Health problems revolving nutrition will decrease as the amount of food per family or individual steadily increases.
Step 4
What can we do about the problem and why would we do it?
Strategies
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Have more food drives in schools
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Have food drives in work places to try to get more of the community involved.
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Increase advertisement Have spokes people come and talk to young kids at schools and influence them to help their community.
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Get local Farms to donate to local food banks.
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Hand out flyers.
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Create a survey to get more information from the community.
How to quantify my plan
I will quantify it by first handing out surveys and recording the results then, I will give out the flyers. Then I will give out more survey's and copmare the results.
I will mainly qunatify my plan by the amount of farms we are able to get to donate food whether that be 1 or 3.
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St. Mary’s Food Bank
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Agua Fria Food Bank
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Lifebridge Food Bank
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Paradise Valley Emergency Food
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United Food Banks
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Association of Arizona Food Banks
Who is already doing something?
(In my community)
What is being done globally?
An organization called The Food Banking Network used food surplus and delivers it to people who need it the food comes from Manufacturing companies, Farms, Fisheries, Gov., Distributors, consumers, and other community serves providers.
“The Food Banking Network
Mission- To alleviate global hunger by collaborating to develop food banks in communities where they are needed around the world and by supporting food banks where they exist.
Vision- We envision a thriving network of food banks throughout the world leading to increased food security and the alleviation of hunger and malnutrition." http://www.foodbanking.org/
Best Strategy!
I think the best strategy is to make flyers and hand them out. These flyers would have information about food banks, food donation centers, what a food bank is, and what it does. I will also hand out survey's and have random people take them to see what they know about food banks. We will mainly contact famrs and try to see if they would be willing to work with us and donate food to local food banks.
Step 5
What will we do about the problem and how will we accomplish this?
The only resource needed is flyers, survey, and community memebers.
What resources do you need to and how will you use these resources?
I will know that my stratgie is working if we are able to get one or more farms to work with us. I will also know that my plan is working if the survey results are better the second time
1. Random Community members
2. Food Banks (Info.)
3. Our school students
4.Local Farms
I would be involved with them by giving them information about what I am trying to accomplish and how I am trying to accomplish it and seeing if they want to work on this project
1.April 6- Make contact with St. Mary’s food bank. Let them know about the project.
2.April 11- Plan out/ Write a draft of the email I plan to send the farms to give them information.
3. April 11-18 Make Infographic with information about the food banks
4. April 18-April 22- Send/ ask people to take surveys and see how many people are affected/were affected/ know someone that is affected and/or already donate food/ are willing to donate food. After explaining to them what a food bank is, what it does, etc. Also, give people a list of places where they can drop off food.(Still talk more farms).
5.April 22- Give out Infographics and have people retake more surveys
6.April 29- Present information about the response we have gotten from farms.
How your strategy will be sustained into the future.
A way to evaluate if your plan is working
A specific timeline that indicated what you will do when
Who in the community will be involved and how will you be involved with them?
My strategy will be sustained into the future if more people begin to donate or if more people at least know what it going on and if farms what to get involved, I will really be able to see if there wil be a sustainable part to my plan.
Step 6
Just Do It!
Email sent out
Emails recived from farms and Sprouts Farmers Market
Survey!
Flyer
Desert Roots Farm
Our journey to increassing community awareness brought us to find others that shared the same problem as us and were looking to solve it. Desert Roots Farm, is willing to work with us and St. Mary's food bank. Desert Roots Farm would donate left over food from events or farmers market produce that wasn't sold to St. Mary's Food Bank. We are currently in the process of making this work!
Step 7
Survey Results
(Before flyers)
Survey Results
(After flyers)
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Have you ever participated in a food drive?
Yes-31/50
No-19/50
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Are willing to participate
Yes-46/50
No-4/50
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Are aware of the need for food
Yes- 35/50
No- 15/50
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Do you know were you can donate food? If so where?
Dont know-16/50
Food Banks-19/50
Church- 2/50
Starbucks-2/50
Events-1/50
Library-2/50
Schools or Food drives-8/50
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Are you affected or were you ever affected by not having food?
Yes-9/50
No-4/50
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Have participated in a food drive before flyers
Yes-30/50
No-20/50
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Are willing to participate
Yes-47/50
No-3-50
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Are aware of the need for food
Yes- 48/50
No- 2/50
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Do you know were you can donate food? If so where?
St. Mary's and other Food Banks - 27/50
Libraries- 7/50
Don't know-9/50
Church or community centers- 7/50
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Are you affected or were you ever affected by not having food?
Yes-32/50
No-18/50
Our survey was effective and got people to change their minds on certain things and it got more awarness out reguarding where you can donate food.
Community Involvement
Like mentioned above, we were trying to get awarness out to the community and in doing so, we tried to get farms to be involved. This was a struggle. Many farms didn't want to work with us or just could not. That was until we contacted Desert Roots Farm. Desert Roots Farm is willing to work with St. Mary's Food Bank and donate left over produce! This is extreamly sustainable because, it is something that will be done regulary and can be continued on as time goes by if neither party has a problem with it. As we ooked into this we found that other farms had been doing this for 3+ years and this is also another reason why we think that farm donated food will be sustainable into the future.
