May 2026 Community Impact Updates
Transformational Developments Underway for 2026-2027
Together, we’re working to serve our neighbors and make sure no one experiences hunger. Meeting that shared mission requires constant evolution. Over the next 18 months, we’ll be rolling out a series of connected changes designed to make our collective work easier and more sustainable, address pain points you’ve shared with us and help us serve neighbors more consistently as need continues to rise.
We’ve sequenced these changes carefully so you have time, training and support at every step. We will communicate well in advance of every milestone.
Here’s a look at what’s coming:
- A flat, predictable handling fee. Beginning Sept. 28, we are introducing a flat $0.07 per pound handling fee on both donated and purchased items, applied across all partners. We’re grateful to the Regional Food Bank’s Development and Operations teams, whose donor stewardship and cost-saving efforts help make this possible.
- A new client intake platform. The Regional Food Bank will be concluding its partnership with Link2Feed when the current contract ends in November. We will be moving to Service Insights, Feeding America’s national intake platform used by member food banks across the country. Service Insights is purpose-built for our work and provided to us at no cost as a Feeding America member. Our team is committed to assisting our partners with this transition. We will assist in setting up accounts, importing existing household profiles and providing you with training and support throughout.
- An upgraded ordering system. Our Inventory and IT teams are upgrading Agency Express to a cloud-based system, Agency Express 4 (AE4). This addresses many of the pain points you’ve raised in the shopping list experience and improves overall usability. AE4 will roll out no later than early April 2027, with training and testing details to come.
- Simpler, automated reporting. Once AE4 is live, the annual survey is replaced by a much shorter monthly report. Monthly reporting begins Aug. 1, 2027 and runs fully automated through AE4. Partners fully active on Service Insights intake platform will be exempt from monthly reporting.
- What about tiers? Capacity building is evolving and will continue! What is it? More food to more people in the places where it’s needed most. We are actively developing the next phase of this work into three core categories of People, Property and Programs to meet local needs for food access across our network. We anticipate rolling out Capacity Surveys to our Food Pantry partners, once every two years; with an initial launch around January 2028.
We know change in trusted, daily-use systems takes effort and flexibility, and we deeply appreciate your partnership as we work through each of these together.
Timeline on Transformational Changes:
Intake System Transition Coming This Fall
This summer, our network will move from Link2Feed to Service Insights. Service Insights is Feeding America’s national intake platform used by food banks across the country. Service Insights is purpose-built for our work, provided at no cost, and aligns us with national data-reporting standards, allowing us to redirect dollars from rising Link2Feed costs back into food distribution.
We’re preparing now for a smooth, supported transition. The Regional Food Bank will set up your account, import your existing Link2Feed data, provide new intake forms, offer trainings and host ongoing support throughout the process.
The one thing we need from you this month is a short onboarding form so we can begin setting up your account. Complete the onboarding form here.
Trainings will begin in June, offered both virtual and in-person at the Regional Food Bank. You can register for trainings here. Our goal is for all partners to be fully using Service Insights by October, ahead of our Link2Feed contract ending on Nov. 30.
CSFP partners will be contacted directly by our Food for Seniors team.
Food for Kids
Summer Feeding Program
We’re excited to share that our Summer Feeding Program will begin on June 1. Site locations will be finalized and published on our website starting that day here. This program helps ensure children continue to have access to nutritious meals throughout the summer while school is out.
Food for Seniors
We’re excited to share that we have hired a new Senior Programs Coordinator, Tracy Herbert, who will oversee our CSFP program across all CSFP partner agencies. She joined us on Monday, May 18.
Tracy will support program consistency, strengthen partner engagement and help ensure a high-quality experience for the seniors we serve through CSFP.
Food for Communities
Thank you for joining us for the Partner Agency Conference in March – it was our largest turnout yet!
- View photos from the day: Partner Agency Conference 2026 | Flickr
- Save the date for next year’s Partner Agency Conference: Friday, April 2, 2027.
- We would love to hear from you on what are desired topics for next year’s breakout sessions. Also, are you interested in leading any sessions? Please submit your ideas to Partner Support at partnersupport@rfbo.org.
Food for Communities Partner Liaisons
Our partner liaisons will continue to be your trusted point of contact, ensuring you have the support and resources you need.
