Chatbot Development

Using a Chatbot to Help Get Food to the Poor

With around 19 million Americans said to live in a "food desert" and a further 38 million using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (also known as food stamps), it's clear that more needs to be done to connect those with food with those in need of it, and the Boston chatbot will be an interesting tool in that fight.

While societies around the world have begun to return to a degree of normality, the impact of COVID-19 remains considerable, with millions of people out of work and poverty a considerable challenge. For instance, The Trussell Trust revealed that during the pandemic, six emergency food parcels were distributed each and every minute in the UK during the winter period. This represented a growth of 61 percent, with families with children among those particularly hard hit.

It’s a situation that has marked an abrupt end to the gradual improvements seen in food insecurity levels over the past decade. As economic instability has emerged alongside the health crisis, however, it’s a problem that has reared its ugly head again. Even before the pandemic struck, data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture suggested that 13.7 million American households were experiencing food insecurity. Indeed, around a third of these households had such limited access to food that their intake was significantly reduced and their eating patterns disrupted.

Researchers from Northwestern University suggest that food insecurity has doubled during the pandemic as the full effects of the economic crisis it has caused have taken hold of the nation. Indeed, at the peak of the crisis, around 23 percent of households were suffering from food insecurity. It’s a problem that especially affects households with children, which historically have been 1.5 times more likely to experience food insecurity than households with no children. To put this into perspective, this accounts for around 5 million children in total.

Data from the Brookings Institution showed that nearly 28 percent of households with children were food insecure in June 2020, which meant that nearly 14 million children were experiencing food insecurity in some way. What’s more, it’s a problem that disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic families, with nearly 20 percent of Black households and nearly 16 percent of Hispanic households suffering from food insecurity in 2019. This compares to just under 8 percent of white households.

Improving access

Boston is attempting to improve matters with the launch of a new chatbot. The service, which has been created by the Mayor’s Office of Food Access (OFA), coincides with the launch of a food donation platform that the team hopes will bolster the food access network in operation across the city.

The chatbot aims to provide Bostonians with a one-stop-shop for all of the food resource information they could need, while also connecting all of the various programs operated by the city and its partners more efficiently.

“Ensuring every Boston resident has access to nutritious meals is essential to building an equitable City,” said Mayor Kim Janey. “I’m excited to introduce this creative option to reduce food insecurity. This tech tool enables residents to connect with or provide services when it’s most convenient for them.”

The project is part of the city's Food Access Agenda, with the aim being to better connect the various existing programs and resources to ensure that this vulnerable community is better served.

"Our neighbors who struggle to make ends meet should not have to choose between putting food on the table, paying rent, and heating their homes," the plan says. "Over the past decade, the number of families with young children in Boston who have limited or uncertain access to nutritious and safe foods, known as food insecurity, has increased significantly."

The chatbot builds upon a previous iteration that was released during 2020 to assist Boston citizens with food delivery. It's available 24/7 and can be accessed by texting "FOOD" to 617-579-8238. It's also available in seven other languages, including Spanish (“COMIDA”), Vietnamese (“THỨC ĂN”), and Portuguese (“ALIMENTO”).

Reducing food insecurity

The two services aim to more effectively reduce food insecurity, not least by efficiently facilitating exchanges between those who have excess food available and those who either need it or can distribute it to those who do.

If organizations, such as restaurants, wish to support the platform, they can register for free on the OFA portal, after which they can begin to post food donations that can then be claimed by others. Each donation is approved by the OFA in a bid to cut down on any possible misuse, but apart from this approval process, they stay out of the exchange, which is solely facilitated by the donor and the recipient.

"Working towards equitable access to affordable, fresh, healthy, and culturally connected foods for every Bostonian is central to the Mayor's Food Access agenda," the OFA says.

With around 19 million Americans said to live in a "food desert" and a further 38 million using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (also known as food stamps), it's clear that more needs to be done to connect those with food with those in need of it, and the Boston chatbot will be an interesting tool in that fight.