MANNA provides medically tailored meals to people with serious illnesses, but their outdated tech made it harder to scale and meet client needs. Staff had to work around clunky systems that did not integrate, which took up time that could have been spent serving clients. On top of that, clients had little flexibility in choosing their meals beyond basic modifications, and the menu did not always reflect their cultural preferences. My focus was on interviewing department heads across MANNA to understand their pain points and goals with the current technology. I wanted to get a clear picture of how outdated systems were affecting daily operations and where improvements could make the biggest impact. Using these insights, I created a presentation for donors that highlighted these challenges and made the case for funding upgraded technology. The goal was to reach $1 million in funding, to secure the resources MANNA needed to streamline operations, improve the client experience, and ultimately serve more people in need.

MANNA operates as a "tech-as-needed" company, meaning it has just enough technology to function but lacks the foundation for long-term growth. This results in inefficiencies that limit its ability to scale operations effectively. What MANNA needs is to become a "tech-enabled" organization, where technology not only supports day-to-day tasks but also drives efficiency, scalability, and expansion. Upgrading its systems would directly impact MANNA’s core mission of providing medically tailored meals to those in need by streamlining operations, reducing manual work, and allowing the organization to serve more clients without being held back by outdated technology.

For staff, the goal is to spend less time working with outdated and inefficient systems and more time serving critically ill clients.

For clients, the goal is to improve overall satisfaction with meal taste and variety, building on the current rate of over 80 percent. Another key focus is ensuring that meals better reflect the cultural preferences of the diverse communities MANNA serves. By enhancing both taste and cultural relevance, MANNA can provide a more personalized and enjoyable meal experience, ultimately increasing client satisfaction and adherence to medically tailored diets.

For MANNA, the goal is to continue expanding its reach by growing the number of clients served each month at a steady rate of approximately five percent per year. Another priority is offering clients a wider variety of meal options, making MANNA more competitive in the space of medically tailored meals. Additionally, securing more insurance partner contracts will help sustain and scale MANNA’s impact, ensuring more individuals in need have access to nutritious, medically appropriate meals.