Streamlining Food Pantry Operations with Toyota Mobility Foundation
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Timeline
September 2024: Project kickoff and observations.
October 2024: Research and problem definition.
November 2024: Concept development.
December 2024: Presented solutions to TMF.
Ongoing: Refining and testing prototypes.
My Role
As team lead and UX designer, I am leading team collaboration, conducting research, aligning with stakeholders, and designing prototypes to validate solutions.
Tools
Figma: Wireframes and prototypes.
Miro: Affinity mapping and brainstorming.
Google Suite: Documentation and collaboration.
Sticky Notes & Whiteboards: Hands-on brainstorming.
Food insecurity affects over 34 million people annually in the United States, with food pantries serving as a vital support system for those in need. However, many pantries face operational challenges that reduce their efficiency in managing resources and serving communities effectively.
PROJECT CONTEXT
Introduction
In partnership with the Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF), this project focuses on optimizing the operations of the IMPACT Center, a food pantry in Greenwood, Indianapolis. TMF, renowned for its work in mobility solutions and logistics, initiated this program to address inefficiencies in food distribution logistics for community pantries.
Our primary goal is to design solutions that improve inventory management, streamline volunteer coordination, and enhance the client experience at the IMPACT Center, empowering the pantry to better serve its diverse community.
We began our research by immersing ourselves in the day-to-day operations of the IMPACT Center, leveraging various methods to deeply understand its pain points. This phased approach, starting from an initial visit and expanding into contextual inquiry, interviews, surveys, and desk research, allowed us to frame the problem space comprehensively.
Research
Defining the Problem Space
To understand the specific context of our project, it’s important to first know the role of the IMPACT Center. Operated by Mount Pleasant Christian Church, the center supports over 400 families monthly, providing food, clothing, and essential resources in a dignified, shopping-style experience. Volunteers are the backbone of its operations, ensuring the pantry remains accessible to the community.
ABOUT
IMPACT Center
Despite its critical impact, the center struggles with operational inefficiencies caused by:
Heavy reliance on key personnel.
Inefficiencies in inventory tracking and restocking.
Lack of clear guidance and training for volunteers.
The first step in understanding the problem was to visit the IMPACT Center and interact with its key stakeholders, including:
The lack of a formal inventory tracking system and the overreliance on Jason for day-to-day knowledge became immediately clear. This informed our subsequent research focus.
This visit gave us a firsthand view of the pantry’s operations, highlighting:
Logistics: The flow of inventory and goods from donation to shelving.
Volunteer Roles: How tasks were assigned and managed.
Client Interactions: How the shopping-style experience was structured.
Steve Saunders
Pastor
Jason Bratina
Warehouse & Inventory Coordinator
Amber Clark
Coordinator
INITIAL VISIT
Beyond technical guidance, Jamie’s visit revitalized our team’s energy and focus. His enthusiasm for the project reminded us of the significance of our work, leaving us more confident and determined to deliver impactful, sustainable solutions aligned with global best practices.
Jamie provided critical feedback that shaped our approach moving forward:
Jamie’s visit profoundly influenced our project direction and priorities:
Validation of Research: He praised the depth of our research, affirming that we were addressing the right challenges. This recognition boosted team morale and validated the relevance of our solutions.
Focus on Metrics: Jamie emphasized the need for measurable outcomes and a baseline to evaluate success, inspiring us to define clear metrics to track the project’s impact.
Defining Measurable Impact: We committed to identifying and tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) that would demonstrate improvements in the IMPACT Center’s operations.
Structured Prototyping: Inspired by Jamie’s advice, we began developing a testing framework to iterate on our solutions collaboratively with stakeholders.
Stakeholder Alignment: His emphasis on inclusivity underscored the importance of addressing the diverse needs of volunteers, managers, and clients alike.
Iterative Problem-Solving: He advocated for flexibility and rapid prototyping, encouraging us to adapt solutions based on real-world feedback to ensure they remain practical and user-centered.
Key Insights from Jamie
Impact on the Project
Features: Digital task assignments, onboarding modules, and availability tracking.
Impact: Enhances volunteer autonomy and reduces reliance on staff.
Volunteer Management System
Building on our observations during the visit, we conducted contextual inquiry and shadowed volunteers to gain deeper insights into workflows and bottlenecks.
These findings underscored the need for structured systems and clear instructions.
Key Findings:
Volunteers required frequent clarifications (3–4 times/hour), which slowed down their tasks.
70% of donations required sorting before they could be shelved, causing inefficiencies.
Informal systems, such as verbal updates and whiteboard tracking, created dependencies and confusion.
Contextual Inquiry and Participatory Shadowing
Recognizing that volunteers are crucial to the pantry’s success, we distributed surveys to collect their perspectives on challenges and opportunities for improvement.
This input validated our initial observations and further shaped our understanding of user needs.
Findings:
Volunteers struggled with inconsistent labeling and unclear restocking processes.
Many desired better training and more structured task assignments.
A significant portion highlighted the need for visual aids to improve efficiency.
Volunteer Survey
To complement our hands-on observations, we conducted interviews with key staff, particularly Jason Bratina, who provided valuable insights into the operational challenges.
These insights helped us identify areas where digital tools could alleviate bottlenecks.
Challenges Highlighted:
Inventory management lacked formal tools, making it difficult to track stock or anticipate shortages.
Volunteers often needed additional training to execute tasks independently.
There were no systems in place to measure the pantry’s community impact quantitatively.
iNTERVIEWS
Finally, we complemented our primary research with competitive analysis and desk research to explore potential solutions:
Competitive Analysis:
We evaluated tools like SmartChoice and PantrySoft, which offer advanced inventory features. However, these were often too complex or expensive for smaller operations like the IMPACT Center.
Desk Research:
We reviewed best practices in food pantry logistics, emphasizing the value of real-time inventory updates, volunteer task management, and client navigation aids.
This combination of primary and secondary research allowed us to identify clear gaps and opportunities for improvement.
By synthesizing diverse data sources, affinity mapping provided the foundation for designing targeted, user-centered solutions to enhance the pantry’s operations.
Categorization by Source: Insights were grouped by research type (e.g., surveys, interviews) and operational focus areas (e.g., Inventory Management, Volunteer Coordination).
Thematic Grouping: Notes were clustered into broader themes, such as Challenges, User Needs, and Potential Solutions, through iterative discussions.
Gathering Insights: Key observations were documented on sticky notes, covering issues like inventory inefficiencies, volunteer challenges, and client interactions.
Methodology:
Competitive and Desk Research
To make sense of the diverse data collected during our research, we conducted an affinity mapping exercise. This helped us organize findings into actionable themes and uncover connections between challenges, needs, and potential solutions.
AFFINITY MAPPING
Synthesizing Insights
Key Findings:
Dependence on key staff for inventory tracking created bottlenecks.
Volunteers faced confusion due to inconsistent labeling and ad-hoc task assignments.
Clients struggled with the point system, requiring extra support from volunteers.
Challenges
A digital inventory system to reduce reliance on specific individuals.
Structured task coordination tools for clear volunteer guidance.
Visual or multilingual aids to improve client navigation and autonomy.
User Needs
A role-based inventory system for better tracking and organization.
A volunteer management tool for task assignments and onboarding.
Signage and visual aids to streamline the shopping experience for clients.
Potential Solutions
The visit of Jamie Bonini, President of the Toyota Production System Support Center (TSSC), marked a turning point in our project. His expertise in the Toyota Production System (TPS), focusing on efficiency, continuous improvement, and problem-solving, brought invaluable insights and renewed enthusiasm to our team.
Engaging with Experts
Jamie's Visit: A Pivotal Milestone
Moving forward, we plan to:
Develop Low-Fidelity Prototypes: For usability testing with staff and volunteers.
Pilot Test Solutions: In real-world conditions at the IMPACT Center.
Refine and Roll Out Final Designs: With training materials for smooth adoption.
Measure Impact: Using metrics like inventory accuracy, volunteer efficiency, and client satisfaction.
IMPLEMENTATION ROADMAP
Next Steps
Ideation
Proposed Solutions
Features: Real-time updates, low-stock alerts, and simplified tracking for volunteers.
Impact: Reduces dependency on key personnel and enhances operational accuracy.
Digital Inventory Management System
Features: Clear labeling, color-coded storage categories, and reorganized layouts.
Impact: Improves task efficiency and navigation.
Physical Pantry Optimization