Thierer Family Foundation Launches Vivery Community, a Public Charity to Expand Access to Nutritious Food and Benefits Nationwide

CHICAGO, Sept. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Thierer Family Foundation today announced the formation of Vivery Community, a new 501(c)(3) organization established to increase access to nutritious food and benefits for everyone. Vivery Community achieves this by providing Vivery technology to food banks, food pantries, and the neighbors they serve across the nation—at no cost.

The launch of Vivery Community comes at a time of significant momentum for Vivery technology and its programs. In one year, Vivery's search and engagement tool has already been embraced by 21 food banks to help 3,853 food pantries connect with 2.9 million people experiencing food insecurity. The Vivery online Find Food map has been used over 1.3 million times, with 102,000 searches in August alone, to help neighbors easily find food and resources to meet their specific needs.

"Vivery technology was launched in collaboration with the Greater Chicago Food Depository to provide a better way to connect neighbors in need with the food and resources available to them," said Azita Habibi, Executive Director, Vivery Community. "We soon realized this need existed far beyond Chicago, so we created Vivery Community to bring Vivery technology free of charge to all food banks and pantries. We take immense pride that our technology is being rolled out across the U.S., but our journey has just begun."

In the U.S., the majority of food pantries still lack an online presence, relying on word of mouth as the primary means of discovery in their communities. The Thierer Family Foundation funded the development of this robust, scalable solution to begin closing this digital gap for those seeking food assistance and resources. Now, the organization is calling on donors nationwide to support the Vivery Community multi-year campaign to provide this technology to 30,000 pantries at $100 per pantry per year, expand its community programs, and ultimately reach 35 million people facing food insecurity.  

"We need to make it easier for people to access food resources, which is exactly what Vivery has done for our Need Food webpage," said Jonathan Tetrault, Vice President of Community Impact and Operations at The Greater Boston Food Bank. "Vivery allows our neighbors to easily find our agency partners and learn much more about the food resources available to them in and around their own community."

In addition to supporting the expansion of Vivery technology, Vivery Community will also be fostering community-driven innovation through Vivery Idea Lab, an incubator testing new ways technology can increase access to nutritious foods, initially focusing on Chicago communities leveraging local Chicago partners and providers.

"We are so grateful to Vivery Community for their capacity to extend delivery and to innovate with new ideas of how to make delivery more efficient," said Sister Stephanie Baliga of Mission of Our Lady of the Angels.

Vivery Idea Lab community programs take the Vivery mission one step further to provide everyone with access to nutritious food, regardless of their circumstances. Vivery Idea Lab initiatives include in-home delivery for neighbors with disabilities or mobility issues, online markets, and integrated access and delivery of pantry items and local produce. The in-home delivery programs have made 3,000 deliveries and created 38 new jobs in the Austin community of Chicago.

"We want to provide this technology to every food pantry in the nation at no cost, but we can't do that alone," added Habibi. "We are grateful for the generous early support of the Greater Chicago Food Depository and Cuore e Mani Foundation, who recognize the value of Vivery Community by supporting its growth. It takes a village, and in this case it will take a community of donors, investors and individuals from coast to coast to help us democratize digital access to nutritious food and benefits for all."

For those interested in contributing to Vivery Community, visit www.vivery.org/community/ways-to-support.

About Vivery Community

Vivery Community is a public charity focused on scaling access to nutritious food by bringing powerful Vivery technology and local programs to food banks, food pantries, and the neighbors they serve. Vivery technology helps bridge the digital divide by connecting neighbors with resources to break the hunger cycle. Vivery Community is fundraising to bring Vivery technology to every food bank and pantry at no cost, and partners with neighborhood communities to learn locally and develop innovative food access solutions that can extend nationally. As a passionate team, Vivery Community strives to do good with technology so everyone, regardless of their circumstances, can effortlessly access essential food, nutritious food, and other services nearby. Visit www.vivery.org to learn more.

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SOURCE Thierer Family Foundation