Expanding Access to Meals through Data and GIS Mapping

Case Study
Written By Christian Gamble

Partnered Organization: South Carolina Department of Education – Office of Child Nutrition, headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, provides federal-funded food services to both public and private schools and districts, along with non-profit organizations for summer food and after-school nutrition programs, throughout all counties in the state.

Context

During my tenure with the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDOE), the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) was acquired by SCDOE after years of management within the Department of Social Services. With the acquisition, SCDOE began partnering with over 70 nonprofit organizations for the Summer Food Service Program during the months of May to August each year. Traditionally, SCDOE audited only private and public school locations to assess operational quality and alignment with SFSP standards. With the acquisition, it was tasked with also assessing nonprofit meal locations, which were not as straightforward as the traditional model. With limited tracking mechanisms in place, there was a need to understand the location of all meal sites to comprehend both the scope and areas of opportunity for further expanding the meal sites, especially in underserved, rural locations impacted by childhood hunger and food deserts.

The goal was to:

  • Design a process and implement a technology that would locate meal sites throughout the state.

  • Provide a user-friendly platform that enables residents to easily identify meal sites in their local area.

  • Leverage data to support initiatives to improve food accessibility for children across the state, especially in underserved counties

Challenge

The state lacked a centralized, user-friendly platform that displayed meal service locations in real time across all counties. Without visibility, underserved communities remained disconnected from essential food programs, and leadership had limited data to address resource gaps.

Solution

Leveraging research and insight from similar government agencies, Christian Gamble identified a solution that would provide the department and residents with real-time data. Spearheading the strategy, Gamble partnered with the Analysis and Technology departments to identify available resources within the organization that could support the overall strategy's goals. This effort resulted in the selection of a GIS-based mapping platform that could be integrated into the existing SCDOE website to visualize every meal site in South Carolina.

Key Deliverables

  • GIS-based Mapping Platform Upload Process: Designed an operational process that enables the SFSP teams to upload meal sites that would automatically feed into the GIS-based mapping platform. Implemented QA process to ensure correct information was uploaded before publishing on the website.

  • Website Wireframes & Developer Engagement: Provide a proposed UI layout to the developer and project management to ensure visuals are implemented as intended, promoting the food service program and providing a user-friendly tool to end-users.

  • Data and Insights: Layered demographic and geographic data to identify areas with low meal site availability and opportunities to expand in untapped areas.

  • Knowledge Management & Enablement: Worked closely with program partners to ensure the accuracy of information, especially for meal site locations, to not only ensure that residents could find sites, but also to reduce potential opportunities for fraud.

  • Regular communication and reporting: Throughout the project, provided regular updates to leadership, ensuring transparency and confidence in the process.

Impact

  • Statewide coverage: 46 counties included, with real-time mapping of hundreds of meal sites across 72 partnered organizations and public/private schools.

  • Data-driven expansion: Highlighted underserved zones, which directly informed future funding and outreach.

  • Partnership growth: Collaboration with the South Carolina Department of Health expanded program reach, added new meal distribution partners, and improved community nutrition outcomes.

Core Capability Demonstrated: Human-centered design, public data visualization, cross-sector partnership building.

Christian Gamble https://uptownstrategylab.com