We have a passion for linking people with food
About Us
Andrew Kimpel and FSC
Andrew Kimpel and FSC
Andrew Kimpel and FSC
Using Supply Chains to Link People with Food
Services and Projects
Andrew Kimpel and FSC
Andrew Kimpel and FSC
Take a look at what we've been working on....
Latest updates
Andrew Kimpel and FSC
Latest updates
Always moving forward
About FSC
FSC Concepts, LLC
Helping people find better ways to acquire and distribute food.
That is what FSC Concepts does. It is that simple. FSC was created out of the need for organizations to be more efficient in this basic process. Whether it is a food bank or a school district or the USDA or a soup kitchen, everyone is under a tight budget. FSC helps teams work with their own information and enhance existing processes through application of proven supply chain techniques. This may require a rebalancing of supply and demand, designing new ways to look at old data, or creation of fresh tools to help a group be more effective in their work.
Decades of experience in supply chains of all types gives FSC the unique ability to see food supply chains from a totally different perspective. Occasionally, this comes in the form of a complete rebuild of a food distribution model, such as the TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) program for Florida. In other instances, it has been finding the optimal way to look at hundreds of thousands of procurement records in order to start making more cost effective buying decisions. In all cases, FSC’s mission is to find the optimal way for teams to cut costs, improve efficiency and get more food to more people every day.
Hurricanes Irma, Michael and Ian had major impacts on Florida. FSC has worked with Feeding America, Feeding Florida, Feeding Louisiana, Florida state DEM, FEMA and FDACS to design efficient food distribution systems to help all those impacted by storms. These concepts are scalable and actionable in any area impacted by a disaster.
About our activities
Services
Food Banks
- Food flow data analysis
- Assessment of food velocity
- Storage and distribution review
- Volume/pipeline analysis down to agency level
- Data warehouses to assess food flows
- Emergency management support
School Food Services
- USDA food forecasting system (only operating model in the US; copyrighted by FSC Concepts)
- Fresh produce procurement systems
- Consolidated K12 and Processor Link inventory models
- Forecast model design and development
- Vending program analyses
- Metrics dashboard development
Community Food Systems
- Assessment of elements of hunger resolution
- Consolidation of source and distribution points for network evaluations
- Farmer's Market analyses
Building the links
Projects in Motion
SCHOOLS
Creation of the first model for accurate forecasting consumption of USDA foods. School Food Authorities (SFA) receive entitlement funding each year to help supplement their local district food budgets. They have normally used this funding to procure food in historical buying patterns rather than using the upcoming year’s menus and student projections. Seeing the buildup of inventories and waste, FSC saw the opportunity to procure these foods in a more efficient manner. By consolidating data from various source points involving inventories, menus, menu cycles, SEPDS data, the USDA Buying Guide and student participation, FSC created a process to project USDA food consumption by month. This represents a quantum leap forward in efficient spending of USDA funds and helps districts reduce their costs per plate.
This model differs from the wide variety of calculators that are available from various processors, since it consolidates all aspects of the SFA’s food supply chain. It can be updated at any time during the school year to accommodate menu changes, meal counts and commodity movements.
Fresh Produce Cost Savings Many districts allow individual schools to place produce orders on a weekly basis and the orders may be sent directly to a distributor or consolidated at the district level. In either case, the daily burden of keeping the school lunch lines moving prevents these staffs from doing a detailed assessment of pricing and packaging trends. FSC has developed a process to analyze produce orders over time – in some cases this has involved hundreds of thousands of purchase orders and invoices. The results are worth the effort.
Building more links
FOOD BANKS
Supply Chain Elements A major food banking organization had a major challenge in acquiring fresh produce across Florida. FSC worked directly with their produce acquisition team to rebuild the tools used to monitor donations and shipment of over 175 million pounds of fresh produce throughout Florida and 24 other states across the past 5 years. These new tools also helped to ensure equitable distribution over all 67 counties.
Structured data elements and procedural disciplines were put in place which lowered acquisition costs while improving the accuracy of donation information. While tactical work was required to keep things moving forward, extensive crop waste analysis was used to establish strategic goals for the state.
Data Warehousing Multiple Data Warehouses have been built to track millions of pounds of products. These have involved total food flows, fresh produce and SNAP spending. Now with millions of records, these DWs have helped answer questions ranging from price per pound on a load of potatoes to how many pounds of food were moved into disaster areas. Data always wins the day on helping to support critical decisions.
Other support As with many things developed by FSC Concepts, it all starts with a simple question. Based on the 2016 tax regulations, how much of a tax deduction could a grower get for a produce donation? The Produce Tax Deduction Calculator App was created in order to help all parties understand the amount of tax savings that could be realized when a donation was made to a registered 501 (c)(3) organization. FSC is truly a team that does whatever it takes.