Food bank budget allocation: deciding where a major new donation does the most good

You are the product manager at a non-profit food bank that has just received a large charitable donation. How would you decide what to spend it on, and in what order of priority? ```hint Find the bottleneck Before comparing spending ideas, trace how food travels from donors to the people who eat it, and ask which stage currently limits how many people get fed. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Does the donor restrict how the money can be used, and is this a one-time gift or the start of recurring support? - What area and population does the food bank serve, and does it hand food directly to households or supply a network of partner pantries? - How does the food bank measure success today: meals distributed, people served, or something else? - How large is the donation compared with the food bank's annual budget? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A mission-level goal and a success metric chosen before any spending option is compared - An end-to-end map of how food reaches people, used to find the stage that limits impact today - Options evaluated with explicit criteria such as meals per dollar, lasting impact, recurring costs created, speed and risk - A concrete allocation and rollout plan, with a reserve and measurement that allows course correction - Donor, partner and community considerations such as restrictions, reporting and the dignity of the people served ### Follow-up Questions - The donor wants the money to fund a new building carrying their name, but your analysis points to refrigerated trucks. How do you handle that conversation? - Six months later, how would you show whether the donation was well spent? - If an economic downturn doubled demand next year, which of your choices would hold up and which would you revisit?