FFEN welcomes Sam Schachtman as a data analysis intern.
Schachtman is a senior at Hamline University studying business analytics with a minor in computational data science.
“I love working with data, I always have,” he said. “When I was younger I’d wake up for breakfast in the morning, open up the paper and go through every sports statistic – I’d do a deep dive.”
Now, he said, he’s excited to put that love of statistics and data to use in a way that helps people.
“Anything I’m doing (at FFEN) is for a bigger cause, that alone is enough to get me interested right away,” he said.
Schachtman will support the importation and clean-up of data associated with FFEN’s food sourcing reports and consultations. The FFEN team of staff and skilled, pro bono volunteers are working to import and clean data for 158 food shelves across the state.
Ultimately, these reports out to individual food shelves will help their leaders assess the budget implications of the foods they source. This no-cost service allows food shelf leaders to study how they’re spending their dollars and, in consultation with FFEN, they can identify areas for improvement, gauge the organizational sustainability of their choices and discover how well they’re meeting the needs of food shelf shoppers.
