Open Table, Inc.

Who are the people you serve with your mission?

Anyone who resides in the Boston Metrowest area and could benefit from no-cost food. Our service area officially includes 21 towns west of Boston. While we do not require proof of income or referrals, the majority of those we serve are low-income or seniors on fixed incomes. We also work in partnership with town Councils on Aging and other organizations to service high-need communities through our mobile food programs.

How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Paper surveys, Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Community meetings/Town halls, Constituent (client or resident, etc.) advisory committees,

How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To provide culturally appropriate food options, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

What significant change resulted from feedback?

One of the communities that we serve has many residents of Brazilian decent. In order to better serve this community we added Portuguese language information to our online ordering on our website and have translators available on our phone ordering system. Through our outreach surveys and ordering process we further learned which grocery items were desired by the community. Our standard grocery bags tended to include items to cook "American"-style meals. We have since updated the contents of the bags delivered to this community to be more culturally appropriate; leading to more satisfied clients and less waste. This feedback also lead us to reflect on what other changes could be made to best provide the various populations we serve.

With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,

How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

Prior to the COVID pandemic we operated a market-style pantry where clients could choose the types and quantities of grocery items they wanted. The clients had choices, but were still limited to items that we had available. COVID required us to switch to a pre-packed bag model, with limited choice. By adding online-ordering we were able to expand the choice options. Through feedback on the online ordering we have expanded the grocery options we procure to better reflect what is wanted by those we serve, giving them more control over what they cook and eat.

Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded,

What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, Requests for feedback must respect our client privacy, so are often anonymous or hard to get,