COVID-19 Food Mapping Initiatives

Network Projects

Brigade Project Web Github Status Board
Code for Pittsburgh Food Access Map web github Status Board
CfA Network Food Map web Status Board
Code for Philly Philly Food Finder web github Status Board
Hack for LA Food Oasis web github Status Board
Open Maine Food Map web github Status Board
Open Eugene Eugene Food Scene web github Status Board
Code for Chapel Hill NC COVID Support web github Status Board
CfA Network Bay Area Community web github

Code for Pittsburgh Food Access Map

This map displays locations of free food distribution sites in the region. Click on locations to view specific information about each, like pick-up times, which may vary. Please note that many sites have eligibility requirements (age, level of need) so contact the distribution site first if you have questions. More information about the map, links to additional resources, and map filters can be found by clicking on the icons in the top right of the map. All efforts are being made to keep the map as current as possible, but there may be inaccuracies due to quickly changing site availability. To submit a change to the map, such as a new location or a change in food availability, please fill out a form in the Submit a New Location tab, contact DHS-COVID19Planning@AlleghenyCounty.US, or use the Leave Feedback tool.

CfA Network Food Map

World Central Kitchen and Mapbox are working together to provide information on the availability of free or reduced-priced meals to families around the country. WCK and Mapbox want to display that information on a national map so that we can quickly identify areas that need support for these children and to ensure parents know where to find this information.

We are looking for volunteers to help input school district-specific information, including school district name, website address where families can find the most current information on school feeding programs for the district, and a Y/N for breakfast, lunch and dinner availability.

  1. This is the link to the google form where you will submit the School Food Program Updates
  2. This is the link to the MAP where the information for school districts will be populated

This is the link to the google sheet with all the populated information for school districts (perhaps for your review to avoid duplicates)

Code for Philly Philly Food Finder

To find food resources, type in your address to focus on your area. You can also use one or more of the filters on the right to narrow your search. You can select an area to search, find locations open on certain days of the week, or find locations near public transit lines (Market-Frankford, Broad Street Line, or Regional Rail).

Hack for LA Food Oasis

Food Oasis LA (FOLA) shows you places to find healthy food in Los Angeles – whether you are looking to buy, grow, or need access to free food. Learn more

Open Maine Food Map

Maine Schools Providing Meals to Students During Closures
From the Maine Department of Education

Map : Maine COVID-19 Food Map: School and Food Pickups
Data : Maine COVID-19 Food Map: School and Food Pickups,
includes text version, plus links to sources of information for each entry.

Code for Chapel Hill - NC COVID Support

Currently a community resource mapping project; soon expanding to include both a map-view and a list-view of resources. Supports resources to help communities…

(1) Shop Safe (groceries, farms & markets, restaurants, pharmacies, pet supplies)
(2) Get Help (free meals, housing & utilities support, legal aid, crisis lines & many other social services)

The project is easily adaptable to be deployed in any community with options to customize the branding and range of resources listed. This project includes code for the front-end site as well as a custom back-end data management system.

Looking for front-end developers! Seeking engineers with VueJS experience to collaborate on front-end design for an expanded site (in the works).

Bay Area Community

(A fork from NC Covid Support :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:)

Volunteer-driven, open-source tool to help communities navigate the COVID crisis by providing information on public resources. This project began as a Bay Area school meals map, and now provides information on more resources such as free food resources, CalFresh/WIC retailers, free and low-cost mental health, medical, and legal resources. Will soon be expanded to include cash/financial assistance, black-owned businesses, benefits enrollment.

All types of help welcome: data entry warriors, front-end developers and designers.

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Hey all, a ton of nation partners are working on creating a Nation Free Food Database.

Description: Providing United Backend Data for The Major Food Security Organizations…so wherever someone in need texts, calls, or visits a site they have access to all free food service locations such as food banks, schools, shelters, soup kitchens, and more.

Current partners include: America’s Food Fund, California Food Banks, CARE, FeedingAmerica, HungerFreeAmerica (“Call 1-866-3-HUNGRY”, the USDA’s Hunger Hotline), MEANS Database, NoKidHungry (“Text FOOD or COMIDA to 877-877" textline), & World Central Kitchen.

We use Airtable to make it easy for volunteers to consolidate information, know which site to contact next, which questions to ask them, & keep the hours & data up to date - as well as to format it for distribution on our various frontend outreach methods - so people in need can easily find the food nearest them.

Call To Action: We need volunteers!!!To help keep the database updated, we need:

  1. People to call food service sites to find out their capacity, hours of operation, and any supplies or assistance they need
  2. To keep growing the list of connected partner organizations and sites
  3. To scower websites for information about these services giving out food and help convert it to a reusable format for access by all our national hotlines & display methods (A partnership with Google Maps is in the works - they may be displaying data we collect as well!)
  4. Software & web developers to help automate scraping and converting of data.

Let me know if your interested, or have existing datasets you would like to add.

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