Tech issues, driver shortage challenge Boston food bank

Faced with technology issues and a shortage of workers, the Greater Boston Food Bank is having a tough start to its summer.

The Boston-based food bank -- which delivers roughly 50 million meals to the hungry each year -- has experienced widespread glitches since the rollout of a new ordering system in June. The new system, meant to be more efficient and user-friendly, has run into various issues, such as producing inaccurate orders and misreporting what products are in stock.

Additionally, the nonprofit has struggled to fill open delivery positions, forcing it to increase its starting pay.

“It’s completely unacceptable and we’re doing everything we can to ensure our ability to deliver food to our clients,” said Arlene Fortunato, GBFB senior vice president for advancement.

The nonprofit provides food to a network of more than 500 meal programs, pantries, shelters and program sites in 190 cities and towns across Eastern Massachusetts. Last year, its operating budget totaled about $96 million.

Its partner agencies include food pantries, soup kitchens, church groups and other nonprofits, which order food at a discounted price to feed those in need through local programs. Since the rollout of the new system, however, a host of partners have had trouble finding certain items and processing orders. The glitches have resulted in erroneous and incomplete orders.

“It’s an across-the-board problem at this point,” Fortunato said.

Glitches are not entirely uncommon in the rollout of new technology systems. But the nonprofit -- now with the benefit of hindsight -- may have been overly optimistic about its readiness.

“We overestimated, perhaps, our ability to fully integrate it,” Fortunato said.

Open Table, a food pantry in Maynard, was forced to scramble earlier this month after an incomplete order left it short thousands of pounds of food.

“It’s been really, really tough,” pantry director Rose Saia told Wicked Local Maynard on July 3.

The issue, however, isn’t impacting everyone. Wendy Barry, cofounder of Taunton Area Community Table Inc., is actually finding the new system to be helpful.

“We (have) had no problems at all with the new system,” Barry wrote in an email. “We found it to be user-friendly.”

The GBFB hopes the new system, which agencies use to order food and the food bank uses to track inventory, will eventually serve all its partners in a similar way once it irons out all the kinks. But the nonprofit is simultaneously dealing with disruptions in other areas of operations. Like most other employers of truck drivers and warehouse workers, the GBFB is struggling to fill open positions, citing a widespread shortage in the labor market.

“If you matched our offer to what Amazon offers, there isn’t a lot of difference,” Fortunato said. “It’s a driver’s market and there are plenty of great jobs out there.”

The American Trucking Associations last year estimated the shortage of drivers nationwide would exceed 50,000 by the end of 2017, representing a 37 percent increase compared to 2016.

If the trend continues, the shortage would grow to 174,000 by 2026.

The shortfall is exacerbated by an increasing amount of business, paired with an aging workforce and an unsustainable pipeline of new workers.

“Over the next decade, the trucking industry will need to hire roughly 898,000 new drivers, or an average of nearly 90,000 per year,” according to a 2017 report.

In an effort to stay competitive, the GBFB increased its starting salary to $16 per hour, preemptively exceeding the new so-called “Grand Bargain” Massachusetts law, requiring the minimum wage be increased to $15 per hour over the next five years.

Furtado is hopeful the higher pay will attract more workers, and -- once its technology issues come to an end -- the nonprofit can get back to business as usual.

“Ultimately, it’s going to be great for our partners and the people we serve,” Fortunato said. “We just have to get there and try to minimize the disruptions.”

Eli Sherman is an investigative and in-depth reporter at Wicked Local and GateHouse Media. Email him at esherman@wickedlocal.com, or follow him on Twitter @Eli_Sherman.