Food Bank Modernizes Legacy Application to Advance Community Services

Company Bio

The mission of the Mid-Ohio Food Collective (MOFC) is to end hunger one nourishing meal at a time while co-creating communities where everyone thrives. This nonprofit provides more than 170,000 meals each day for hungry people in central and eastern Ohio. Its network of 680 member agencies directly distributes majority of the nutritious food the Mid-Ohio Collective handles each year. The organization serves 20 counties covering nearly 10,000 square miles, and its goal is to close the 144 million-meal gap in the region.

 

Industries / Solutions

  • Food insecurity
  • Nutrition
  • Social work
  • Community support

Technologies

  • PHP
  • MySQL
  • Github

Business Challenge

MOFC needed an experienced software development services partner to update its original PantryTrak data insights tool, created for food banks and agency partners across the country to pinpoint opportunities to serve hungry community members. This legacy application used an outdated technology platform that made performance improvements and enhancements difficult and expensive.

PantryTrak was a web application that helped recipients register with the foodbank and document the necessary personal information needed by food service programs.

The project scope of work included....

  • Migration to an updated application platform
  • Addition of new features and functionality
  • Upgrade of WordPress website
  • Architectural and optimization improvements
  • Development of a mobile app for both iOS and Android

Solution

InApp helped MOFC redevelop its original application. InApp provided a full review by its technical experts to evaluate the code structure and modules. The team recommended updates to the platform and the code to meet modern standards, as well as improvements to the database structure. The updates were designed to gather insights that will help food banks better serve customers. By creating a streamlined customer intake process, partners also can rely on a limited staff or volunteer base.

PantryTrak evolved into cloud-based software used by multiple food banks, and it eventually was rebranded as FreshTrak. Today this software application serves multiple food banks and provides the opportunity to track not only federal food services such as the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), but also comprehensive services such as community referrals, clothing, as well as back-to-school and holiday programs.

Benefits

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Regular interactions between the InApp Project Manager and MOFC team accelerated the software development process and helped to ensure all deadlines were met. The InApp team’s exceptional communication skills provided MOFC with process-driven project management tools for consistent results.

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InApp’s team of software development experts oversaw the development and the upgrade, as well as the incorporation of new technologies for critical workflow changes. The result was a scalable and high-performing software solution that met MOFC’s challenges — and was poised to adapt as those needs evolved.

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InApp’s DevOps assessment, automation, and management services empowered the MOFC with a delivery stream that helped drive business transformation. DevOps facilitated continuous software development by aligning IT strategy with IT infrastructure to improve operations and cut costs, while also helping the MOFC to quickly adapt to sudden challenges and requirements.

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InApp’s in-house Independent Software Testing department provide full-cycle QA and testing services for both projects, as well as custom testing for individual components. Certified ISTQB professionals use established testing protocols for each stage of the software product lifecycle, including performance, UI, and manual testing.

Tools to End Hunger

Today FreshTrak helps MOFC and its partners meet network needs for timely neighbor insights by optimizing data and technology. It also ensures equitable access to tools and technology for all food banks and agencies in the network, as well as optimizes financial resources by significantly reducing network costs of paying for service insights technology and accessing data.

“InApp made it possible for us to continue to advance our software and to build it out in such a way that we can hopefully make it a lot easier on the people we serve,” said Mark Mollenkoff, formerly with MOFC and now Vice President, Digital Platform Technology at Feeding America. “Now as we go into our next decade of work, we’re continuing to use technology to end hunger. Our latest developments are enabling those we serve to be connected directly with the food pantries, food banks, and other social care networks that play a vital role in the lives of families.”