You've likely heard before that monthly statistics reporting is an important contractual obligation for OFB partner agencies, but we less often focus on sharing the reasons why we ask for this data and how it’s useful (beyond being used to fulfill OFB's own reporting obligations). Some of the many reasons to care about submitting these reports accurately and on time are:

• This data isn't only useful to OFB, but to your organizations as well. Many agencies utilize this data for grant writing and/or reporting, presenting to your own stakeholders, etc.

• Our knowledge of the real-time state of food insecurity in Oregon is only as accurate as the data you share with us.

  • Having accurate counts of households and individuals served allows us to analyze trends in food insecurity over time and across different parts of the state. This is vital knowledge to have.

  • This is especially important when OFB needs to communicate to legislators about the data-backed impact of a government food assistance program ending or funding being cut, for example. 

• If your organization receives USDA TEFAP food, your allocations are tied to the proportion of individuals you serve. Under-reporting may cause you to receive less food than you otherwise could, which directly impacts the community you serve.

• In some instances, OFB utilizes this data in ways that affect the funding and food streams that are passed on to you. It's important that we have the fullest picture possible in order to seek adequate resources that match the level of need in our communities. In sum, this data largely informs how we allocate resources to agencies and the community. 

• Since the pandemic started, much has changed about how OFB and our partner organizations source and distribute food (sometimes called the food flow). Sharing information about food you source from outside of OFB helps us understand and respond to these shifting trends.

We hope that in this list of reasons you find one or more that resonates with you. Making time for reporting can be difficult when your top priority is getting food to those in need, but our hope is to reframe reporting as just another way to reach this goal, rather than something that gets in the way of it.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about reporting, you're always welcome to reach out to our Data & Systems Team at PAStats@oregonfoodbank.org for monthly statistics reporting or RetailDonationData@oregonfoodbank.org for Fresh Alliance reporting.