Meet FLIP, the Food Bank Logistics Information Planner

FLIP is web-based software designed specifically to support the vital logistics planning and program work that every food bank has, but that ERP and CRM systems aren’t meant to handle.

FLIP was originally built for, and substantially designed by, the staff of Feeding America West Michigan. They had found commercial logistics software to be shockingly expensive and not well fitted to the food bank’s needs, but writing drivers’ schedules on a whiteboard in the logistics manager’s office just wasn’t cutting it anymore.

FLIP has been expanded, polished, and proven over ten years, two food banks, and over forty-five thousand missions covering five million miles. We couldn’t be more excited to share it with you!

“I have worked in food banking for almost 24 years and one of the best inventions to come along in that time has been the development of FLIP. It has not only put all of our logistics planning in one place, but allows for the advance planning that saves time and stress with managing our logistical operations. If your food bank is yet to see the demo or try this out, run don’t walk! You will be glad you did.”

Ryan A. Van Maldegen, Logistics Manager, Feeding America West Michigan

With FLIP you can:

• Plan missions for your trucks and drivers.
• Put drivers’ schedules on their phones.
• Record daily vehicle inspections. 
• Make an always-current mobile pantry calendar. 
• Collect statistics from summer feeding sites, mobile food pantries, and other programs.
• Let agency relations update the find food tool on your public website – without touching the site!
• Integrate all of this with almost any platform that has or can make use of a standard REST API.
• And much more!

“FLIP has been an invaluable tool in streamlining both the external user experience and back-end process for communicating the most accurate, timely information possible for neighbors seeking food resources.

Our agency and distribution teams do not need to submit a request to marketing to update public-facing details when something changes – these updates happen automatically when changes are made on the logistics side in the back end of FLIP, saving time and reducing the risk of communications errors since FLIP can serve as a single source of truth.”

Katlyn Cardoso, Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications, Greater Lansing Food Bank

Case Study: Mobile Food Pantries

FLIP is deeply integrated into Feeding America West Michigan’s mobile food pantry program, one of the largest in the country:

1. In the closing months of the year, the programs team uses FLIP to schedule the new year’s mobile food pantry distributions.
2. 30 days before a distribution, FLIP adds it to the food bank’s public website.
3. A few weeks before the distribution, the logistics manager uses FLIP to assign the distribution to a truck and a driver.
4. 14 days before, FLIP sends the host agency a reminder to confirm the time and location.
5. As the distribution approaches, the food bank’s truck driver uses the schedule on their phone to know where they’re supposed to be, and when.
6. 1-2 days before, the warehouse team uses FLIP to set up the menu for the distribution. When the menu is marked complete, it gets automatically sent to the host agency.
7. Immediately after the distribution, the host agency completes their feedback form and statistics reporting through FLIP.
8. 14 days after the distribution, host agencies that haven’t submitted their statistics get an automated reminder.
9. Statistics flow to the community impact/agency relations and development & marketing teams.

“FLIP is critical in my work with the mobile food pantry program. From tracking stats and scheduling for over 100 mobile food pantry accounts, FLIP keeps me sane and organized. I would be lost without it! It is very user friendly and makes life much easier. FLIP allows an easy, convenient way to work seamlessly with the Logistics team to ensure our schedules are matching, efficient, and feasible. Thank you for all of your efforts in aiding the food bank!”

Conrad Cuncannan, Programs Coordinator, Feeding America West Michigan

“One of the most beneficial developments in FLIP has been the reporting and tracking of distributions statistics. FLIP allows partners to electronically report their distribution data to us, and it automatically ties it directly to that partner and that specific distribution. It even sends automated reminders to collect this data, which, beyond saving hundreds of staff hours, allows us to have concrete data related to our program and make adjustments to distributions that are tailored to each partner’s needs.

Our utilization of FLIP has led us to using it for other program needs and identify new ways to collect and curate data. I am not exaggerating when I say it is the most valuable tool in my toolbox as Programs Manager.”

Shay Kovacs, Programs Manager, Feeding America West Michigan

FLIP is….

“[Nonprofit Innovations Executive Director] Jeff Thomas has been a great partner to our organization for many years. He understands the operational challenges food banks face and has built tools that actually function for the people doing the work every day.

FLIP has become an essential tool for our team. It gives me a quick snapshot of our daily operations, helps coordinate incoming and outgoing loads, and allows us to better understand staffing and logistics scheduling. The reporting features also make it easy to track pounds distributed and plan for future needs. FLIP has improved how we coordinate, communicate, and plan across our operations.”

Zach Saucier, COO, Feeding America West Michigan

We’re always happy to take food bankers on a tour of FLIP ourselves – or connect you with someone from a food bank already using FLIP. Just complete the form below or contact Jeff Thomas directly.

“The FLIP tool has really helped our logistics team schedule and manage a very complex driving environment.”

Ken Estelle, President and CEO, Feeding America West Michigan