A Local Food Pantry with Measurable Community Impact: Making It Count

We work a lot with numbers. From our Board of Directors down to our volunteer hunger heroes, everyone here at Olean Food Pantry works in ways that are measured and quantified. There’s a purpose to the numbers madness. As a local food pantry with measurable community impact, we must know what exactly we’re doing, how and why.

Those questions are answered only with data.

We believe that doing well in the local War on Hunger isn’t good enough. To truly move the needle on food insecurity in Western New York, we must measure the good we do. It’s vital to track outcomes as carefully as we count cans and boxes of cereal. It’s how we stay accountable. It’s how we earn trust from donors and foundations. 

Most importantly, it’s how we ensure we’re meeting the real and evolving needs of our neighbors.

Feeding Working Families & Understanding Their Struggles

Service requires understanding. While it may be easy enough to comprehend food insecurity at the surface level, the struggles of individual people and families are distinct and varied. Sure, we know that roughly 1 in 4 families here struggles with hunger. Knowing that figure is great. It helps us prepare, to fundraise, to order enough food and supplies to accommodate the dozens – or hundreds – of people who visit Olean Food Pantry each week. 

But what exactly do they need? How do they need to be served? What community resources could we mobilize or connect them to that would help lift them out of poverty?

Our community needs here in rural WNY are different than even rural West Virginia – and vastly different from urban Miami. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. As a local food pantry serving working families in WNY, we see these realities every distribution day:

• Households where parents juggle jobs and still can’t cover basic needs.
• People in addiction recovery who struggle holding steady jobs and affording groceries.
• Seniors on fixed incomes trying to stretch dwindling retirement savings.
• Working professionals fresh off an unexpected layoff.
• & Many more.

(Related reading: The Faces of Hunger in Western New York.)

Many people still think of food pantries as places where only the unemployed or homeless seek help. Some may go so far as to call them “lazy.” Here at Olean Food Pantry, we know a much different reality. 

These are our neighbors: the factory worker laid off unexpectedly, the nursing aide whose rent just went up, the single dad trying to make ends meet on two part-time jobs without benefits. 

Data-Driven & People-Focused: Local Food Pantry Serving Working Families in WNY

Nearly half of all residents live either in poverty or on the edge of it in our service area spanning Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties — larger than the state of Rhode Island. So many of them are doing everything “right” and still falling short. 

We serve them not only with food, but with dignity and compassion.

While the numbers speak volumes, the narrative of real community impact comes from human stories. Like the ones mentioned above, we’ve also encountered stories like the senior couple who tearfully thanked our volunteers because they no longer had to choose between food and medicine. Or the working mom who told us she finally “felt seen” because we offered fresh fruits her kids actually liked.

Our Shopper’s Choice model, in which clients choose the foods that best fit their families’ preferences and dietary needs, adds another layer of dignity. It also allows us to track what foods are most needed, ensuring we’re not just giving out free food, but the right food.

Why Measurable Impact Matters to Grant Funders & Food Pantry Donors

In today’s philanthropic landscape, grant funders and donors want more than good intentions. They want to know their dollars are making a tangible difference. They won’t even consider funding an organization without the capacity to measure community impact. 

That’s why OFP invests in client tracking systems and transparent reporting, so every grantmaker, sponsor and local supporter can see their role in building a stronger, more food-secure Western New York.

A local food pantry with measurable community impact is pleased to report the efficiency of donor dollars used. Thanks to wholesale pricing through FeedMore WNY and other nonprofit partnerships, we’re able to purchase approximately twice as much food with every donated dollar compared to retail costs. That’s such a strong return on investment for every funder and supporter.

Whether we’re writing grant proposals, launching campaigns like Cattaraugus Gives Day, or simply updating our community, we report our compassion with verifiable data.

Join Us in Making a Measurable Impact on Food Insecurity in WNY

Olean Food Pantry is proud to have had such a positive community impact for so many years. We invite you to be part of that impact. Whether you donate, volunteer or spread the word, you’re helping us feed working families, track success and continuously improve.

Hunger doesn’t take a break. Neither do we.