At CAPI Food Shelf, Mayly Xiong said people are talking with one another, sharing stories, sharing updates on their lives, and the interactions have become less transactional.
“They become community friends – people who make a difference at the food shelf, not just people who receive from it,” Xiong said.
The shift came when staff began approaching shopper input with more intention. With FFEN’s help, Xiong said the site started building an approach around the type and quantity of food it orders. And by tuning into shoppers during everyday conversation — and through a comment box installed this spring — they gather feedback on the changes they’re making.
“They’re the ones that come and utilize your food shelf,” Xiong said. “They’re the voices that should be helping you in shaping your food shelf — and are the reason why your food shelf is there in the first place.”
When shoppers ask for something the food shelf can’t yet deliver, Xiong said they talk about a compromise, while the site may not be able to do everything a shopper is asking for, they talk about what may be possible in the moment.
And, instead of summarizing the feedback they receive at the food shelf, staff often ask shoppers if they can record a short interview to share with board members, to aid in decision-making.
“It’s better to hear it directly from the clients themselves, instead of having us reshape or summarize their story,” Xiong said.
FFEN helped CAPI think strategically about what to prioritize in food ordering, Xiong said, and use what the site was learning about its shoppers to inform those purchasing decisions. Rather than simply collecting information, she said FFEN helped staff dig into sourcing data, comparing it against previous years and months, tracking changes, and asking why those changes happened. That closer look, she said, helped surface what needed improvement, insight the site now uses to adjust how it orders based on what shoppers are telling them.
CAPI has been using FFEN’s Strategic Food Sourcing Analysis to home in on its ordering, ensuring they purchase the foods shoppers say they want most. Additionally, the site has established relationships with local farmers.
“It has been a great experience for us working with cultural farmers to be able to get fresh produce from their farm that is actual produce our clients use every day,” she said.
Xiong said shoppers get excited when they come through the food shelf and discover herbs and foods they weren’t expecting. She said recipes are shared in the aisles and move from shopper to shopper and shopper to staff.
“We’ve been taking notes from one another,” she said.
The focus on engaging with shoppers, listening and learning from them, she said, has also had importance when it comes to providing direction to volunteers. When people are stocking the food shelf, Xiong said they put the produce front and center so it’s visually appealing and more accessible. And, she explains that the site prioritizes food that way because it’s what their shoppers want.
“It’s good to give our volunteers a visual of how and why we do stuff the way we do,” she said.
With support from FFEN, the food shelf:
- Prioritizes fresh produce, protein, dairy and eggs, foods that are most important to shoppers.
- Tracks its progress every six months with a “health check” to gauge how they’re doing at providing fresh food to shoppers.
- Engages shoppers in a myriad of ways, developing relationships and gaining insights that help the food shelf operate better.
