When you think of the Netherlands, poverty is likely not something that comes to mind. We have the EU's fifth-largest economy and strong social services. But beneath the surface, a significant challenge persists: food poverty.
A recent Ipsos I&O study, commissioned by the Red Cross, found that 9% of people in the Netherlands can't afford enough food. That's where Dutch Food Banks come in, providing free food to over 180,000 people in need.
But there's a catch. An estimated 200,000 to 250,000 more people in the Netherlands qualify for food assistance from food banks, but don't get it. Why? Often, it's due to unfamiliarity with Dutch Food Banks. In other cases it’s because of shame associated with asking for help.
To address this critical gap, Dutch Food Banks launched their 'Onder de Radar' (Under the Radar) initiative. They want to help these people, but to do that they need to know where they are. Until now they lacked how to access and analyse this crucial data.
This challenge became the catalyst for our partnership with Dutch Food Banks. We aimed to combine on-the-ground experience with technology to help make a positive impact on many more people's lives.
The key part of this collaboration is a data dashboard that maps food poverty at the neighbourhood (PC4) level. It's a powerful tool that combines two types of data:
By combining them, we were able to see the blind spots: the areas where there are people in need, but perhaps where Dutch Food Banks currently aren’t as active.
Recently, the project expanded to include a general poverty map of the Netherlands, based purely on public CBS data. This dashboard map, now hosted on the Dutch Food Banks' website, provides insights for everyone to see and use.
You can check it out for yourself here.
Creating a dashboard for an organisation run entirely by volunteers presented some unique challenges. The Dutch Food Banks volunteers and user base are broad, representing many different demographics. From retirees to people who used to be clients of the food bank and now want to help others. Dutch and non-Dutch. And not all necessarily tech-savvy.
This diverse user group meant the dashboard needed to be intuitive and straightforward. So we put a lot of effort into making the design work for everyone. The end result meant there was no fluff, no additional features or pop-ups. It’s clear-cut and easy to use.
Our team also ensured the dashboard's granularity matched the food banks' existing processes. Dutch Food Banks work a lot with four-digit postal codes. So it was important for us to make sure we do it on that level of granularity, for example.
While the dashboard itself isn't AI, the project laid important groundwork for future AI integration. We actually developed AI features that could predict trends, but that was a little too complex for what the Food Banks needed right now, and their existing processes. Understanding the current situation and acting upon that information was what was required.
For us, this underscored an important point: technology should serve real-world needs, not be pushed for its own sake. Instead, we laid stepping stones with them. And the moment they're ready, we're ready to push those AI features back live.
The impact of this collaboration is already becoming clear. As more food banks around the Netherlands join our pilot (around 20 have so far), the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. When using the dashboard, Dutch Food Bank volunteers sometimes say, “This validates the feeling we had.” While others are saying, “Oh, that area. I actually never really thought about it. That's great for us to know.”
The most rewarding aspect of the project goes beyond the application of technology. It’s the bigger cause that we are helping.
We hope that this can be a catalyst within the Dutch Food Banks to become more data-driven, which we believe will help them a lot in future.
This shift has already started to become evident, as Dutch Food Banks decided to host the dashboard on their own website. This is them having more ownership over the technology, which we love to see.
Looking ahead, there's potential for even more impactful collaborations. The team is exploring ways to connect the dashboard insights with persona-based outreach strategies. If we can say, “Okay, in this area, you have a lot of this demographic (for example immigrants or single parents),” then you come up with an action plan that’s based on data, instead of having to use their gut feelings.
By bringing technology into this equation, we're not just fighting food poverty; we're empowering a dedicated community of volunteers to reach even more people in need. That's the true power of technology for social good.
