The Grove Food Pantry (operated through Graves Memorial Baptist Church) serves families in the heart of Arkansas. The Grove is a choice-based, shoppable food pantry within their comprehensive community care center.
Before PantrySoft, The Grove used three massive 3-ring binders to manage over 500 households’ information. Hannah Lamb, The Grove Ministry Director, recalls: “[Clients would] come up and show us their ID, and we’d pick-up the binder and flip to their page. […] Pages would be falling out, or get stuck in different places”. If a client’s last name wasn’t in the right spot, or if they’d been recorded under a different household, The Grove had no way to accurately track if they’d already visited for that month.
Their local food bank recommended another software platform to track client data. While The Grove wanted to digitize client records, Lamb described the pre-set registration questions as ‘invasive’ and worried they would make clients uncomfortable. While their local food bank was ok with modifying the questionnaire, the other software didn’t allow this level of customization.
“After finding PantrySoft, we knew there was no other option for our ministry,” states Lamb. PantrySoft allowed The Grove to configure their registration form to collect only the essential information from clients. This information is rolled into comprehensive reports that The Grove submits to their local food bank.
Now, volunteers at The Grove can register clients quickly when they come in. When a new client’s address is entered, PantrySoft automatically checks to see if there’s an existing household at that address. Household members and visit details are easy to find, without having to flip through binders. Less time spent searching means more time spent connecting with their clients. “We like to be able to have a relationship with the people coming in,” Lamb explains. With PantrySoft, simple client check in and registration allows volunteers time to talk with each client about their unique situation and offer appropriate support. Lamb continues, “It allows us to open up that doorway and have conversations.”
Since starting with PantrySoft more than a year ago, Lamb has been wowed by the customer support. The PantrySoft team is super responsive, very helpful, and solves problems on the call (not weeks later). “I know when I call somebody is going to answer and I’m going to get it figured out right then and there,” Lamb reports.
“I could not recommend it enough.” Hannah Lamb, Ministry Director for The Grove Food Pantry at Graves Memorial Baptist Church