Sumner Community Food Bank

Who are the people you serve with your mission?

We serve our neighbors in need who are experiencing food insecurity. The people who visit our food bank are low-income families and individuals in need of food from over 25 cities across Pierce, King, & Thurston counties, including a high number of homeless individuals and families. According to the USDA, most low-income Americans cannot meet Federal dietary recommendations, particularly the recommended quantities of fruits and vegetables. Over 75% of our clients are female, and approximately 39% of our clients are BIPOC, with a majority (22%) identifying as Hispanic/Latino. We have also seen an increase in Ukrainian clients as local Ukrainian families have begun hosting refugees, and visit us for extra food.

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

Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Paper surveys,

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 identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

What significant change resulted from feedback?

In our last client feedback survey, we asked clients how much of their fresh produce we were providing, which was about half. That feedback directly influenced our food purchasing decisions, and we have since made a partnership with a local produce distributor to increase our purchases and received donations of produce.

With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,

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

We want our clients to feel welcome and heard, as many are from historically disenfranchised populations. We feel that our relationship has improved as we ask for feedback, and then make steps to act on any actionable data. We also request client stories, so we can include the people visiting the food bank in our work and future.

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 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 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, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time, It is difficult to identify actionable feedback,