NOTE THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS, TO BE FINALIZED IN A COUPLE DAYS.
Below a lengthy table that looks at the statistics on Loaves & Fishes' 2009 Annual Report, contrasted to stats from the 2007 and 2008 reports, with my comments and further interesting related numbers I was able to compute from the reports and from the public Form 990s L&F is required to file by mid-May every year, reporting on the prior calendar/fiscal-year's financials. [Does that make sense? That was one very long sentence.]
Loaves & Fishes trots out some big numbers as metrics, but there's no context, nor explanation given to provide readers with a sense of their significance. Frankly, it is "typical L&F": A wall of balderdash to impress potential donors without really informing them. In typical fashion, Loaves & Fishes disrespects its donors: "Just hand over the loot and don't ask any penetrating questions."
You can tell that Loaves & Fishes doesn't take any care in publishing their metrics. While many employees are likely to have expended a lot of time with counts and collections to create careful data, no care is taken to see if the numbers are understandable or reasonable. As you can see from the table below, some 2008 numbers 'aren't real'; they are just repeats of the 2007 numbers. Other numbers just seem to be increased a little year after year. The pounds of food the warehouse receives should be 'tested for reasonableness' by asking questions and seeing that individuals aren't given five pounds of food on their foodtrays.
I've never seen people going into the Park library being counted. Isn't that just some mad concoction pulled out of a hat? If it's not a precise count, but a count done for a period of time and then extrapolated, that background information should be provided.
Really, I am only suggesting that one responsible person sit down with the numbers and spend one lousy stinking hour to verify them for reasonableness. And that there be one senior administrator that was responsible for something, instead of everybody not being responsible for anything.
Asterisks [*] indicate MY intrusive information.
Below a lengthy table that looks at the statistics on Loaves & Fishes' 2009 Annual Report, contrasted to stats from the 2007 and 2008 reports, with my comments and further interesting related numbers I was able to compute from the reports and from the public Form 990s L&F is required to file by mid-May every year, reporting on the prior calendar/fiscal-year's financials. [Does that make sense? That was one very long sentence.]
Loaves & Fishes trots out some big numbers as metrics, but there's no context, nor explanation given to provide readers with a sense of their significance. Frankly, it is "typical L&F": A wall of balderdash to impress potential donors without really informing them. In typical fashion, Loaves & Fishes disrespects its donors: "Just hand over the loot and don't ask any penetrating questions."
You can tell that Loaves & Fishes doesn't take any care in publishing their metrics. While many employees are likely to have expended a lot of time with counts and collections to create careful data, no care is taken to see if the numbers are understandable or reasonable. As you can see from the table below, some 2008 numbers 'aren't real'; they are just repeats of the 2007 numbers. Other numbers just seem to be increased a little year after year. The pounds of food the warehouse receives should be 'tested for reasonableness' by asking questions and seeing that individuals aren't given five pounds of food on their foodtrays.
I've never seen people going into the Park library being counted. Isn't that just some mad concoction pulled out of a hat? If it's not a precise count, but a count done for a period of time and then extrapolated, that background information should be provided.
Really, I am only suggesting that one responsible person sit down with the numbers and spend one lousy stinking hour to verify them for reasonableness. And that there be one senior administrator that was responsible for something, instead of everybody not being responsible for anything.
Asterisks [*] indicate MY intrusive information.
| Volunteer Placement and Orientation | ||||
2007 | 2008 | 2009 | SacHo comment | |
| Attendance at Thur. orientations | 520 | 750 | 1473 | |
| Attendance at first-Sat-of-month orientations | 84 | 110 | 200 | |
| * Total attendance at orientations | 604 | 860 | 1673 | up 95% this year. No explanation offered for whopping increase. |
| Folks who volunteered | 3564 | 3880 | 4140 | This most likely means instances of volunteering, as opposed to what it says, "people ... who volunteered." |
| * Volunteers per day | 9.8 | 10.6 | 11.4 | |
| Advocacy Action Group | ||||
2007 | 2008 | 2009 | SacHo comment | |
Number of community members | 2200 | 2200 | 2892 | Does 'community' mean the homeless community? This is something homeless people can have signed up for without knowing they are being claimed as supporters of whatever L&F is doing. The Greater Sacramento community? This could just mean subscribers to a newsletter. Dunno. |
| Dining room | ||||
2007 | 2008 | 2009 | SacHo comment | |
| Aggregate count of instances of a person being fed | 159,185 | 177,867 | 175,755 | aka, number of meals prepared. Does this include staff meals? Don't know. Does this exclude instances when outsiders prepare the L&F lunch. Don't know. |
| * Days serving lunch that year | 364 | 365 | 364 | Every day except Thanksgiving (when there is a huge meal served at the nearby Salvation Army). 2008 was a leap year. |
| * Average served each day | 437 | 487 | 483 | I would have expected 600 or more. Perhaps it's the case that ~20% of people getting a lunch ticket don't use theirs. I don't use mine ~ 30% of the time. |
| Friendship Park [& Wash House] | ||||
2007 | 2008 | 2009 | SacHo comment | |
| FP Library visits | 38,127 | 39,538 | 39,341 | Curious thing: the 2007, 2008, 2009 reports all call the library "full service." Oh, yeah? That's not even so by 1963 standards. Books cannot be checked out and most never get taken off the shelf year after year after year. |
| * Average per day [est. open 250 days/year] | 153 | 158 | 157 | |
| Memorial services for fallen FP denizens | 19 | 26 | 27 | |
| Day labor referrals | 1877 | 1558 | 1590 | Perhaps the recovery, when California joins in, will greatly pump up this stat in 2010. Employers are skitish about hiring permanent employees but will hire temporary ones. |
| Men's Wash House: Instances of providing laundry service | 3185 *12.7 /day | 3250 *13.0/day | 3120 *12.5/day | I'm not sure about 2007, but in the past couple years "laundry lotto" is the means by which L&F does men's laundry. [Per-day computation assumes lotto was done 250 times each year.] |
| Men's Wash House: Showers provided | 35,484 *142/day | 35,780 *143/day | 34,475 *138/day | [Per-day computation assumes the Wash House was open 250 days each year.] |
| Genesis Mental Health | ||||
2007 | 2008 | 2009 | SacHo comment | |
| Instances of assessments, counselling and referals | 4438 | 5488 | 5532 | |
| Guest Health Outreach | ||||
2007 | 2008 | 2009 | SacHo comment | |
| Triage | 7,952 | 8,752 | 10,280 | |
| TB Testing | 130 | 218 | 315 | I don't understand these figures at all. TB tests for TB cards had been given at a clinic on C St., then that function was moved to Mercy on North C in 2009. I don't think this is something L&F has its hand in - but I could be wrong. |
| Blood Pressure tests | 713 | 653 | 884 | |
| Blood sugar tests | 443 | 476 | 689 | |
| People attending health fair and taking classes | 540 | No such data for '08 or '09. | ||
| Jail Visitation | ||||
2007 | 2008 | 2009 | SacHo comment | |
| Instances of service to Sac'to jail inmates | 4958 | 4958 | 5010 | Same numbers in '08 as in '07? |
| Letters sent to courts or attorneys | 4413 | 4413 | 4560 | |
| Personal toiletry kits given to released jailees | 804 | 804 | 600 | |
| Bus passes given (to just-released jailees?) | 503 | 503 | 550 | |
| Maryhouse | ||||
2007 | 2008 | 2009 | SacHo comment | |
| Instances of services provided [W=women F=fathers C=children] | W 1575 F 6 C 978 | 1429 3 945 | 1619 9 927 | |
| Weekday breakfasts served | 19,536 *78/day | 21,578 *86/day | 24,571 *98/day | Per-day computation assumes 250 days of service/yr. |
| Showers | 12,279 | 12,082 | 11,681 | |
| Supplies dispensed | 6,070 | 5198 | 5409 | [eg, diapers, formula, personal hygene] |
| "Adopt-a-family" | 136 fam (404 ch'n) | 127 fam (366 ch'n) | 104 fam (296 ch'n) | Matches volunteers with families that need assistance during Christmastime. |
| Mustard Seed School | ||||
2007 | 2008 | 2009 | SacHo comment | |
| Children | 162 | 145 | 146 | Ages 3 to 15. |
| Pupil days | 3926 *24 ave | 2726 *19 ave | 3569 *24 ave | Average for children is 4 or 5 weeks of school. A little over a month. |
| Children returned to public schools | 57 | 37 | 49 | |
| Medical & Dental visits arranged for children. | 8 m. 91 d. | 8 m. 21 d. | 23 m. 41 d. | |
| Sister Nora's Place | ||||
2007 | 2008 | 2009 | SacHo comment | |
| Women given shelter, meals and case management. | 31 | 25 | 30 | |
| Warehouse/Procurement | ||||
2007 | 2008 | 2009 | SacHo comment | |
| Pounds of food received | 25,000 in year 2007 | 25,000 in year 2008 | 14,157 per week | What!? 14,157 lb. per week equals about 707,800 lb. in 2009 |
| From USDA | 1% | 2% | 49% | No explanation provided as to why more food was suddenly from USDA and less from food banks in 2009. |
| From food banks | 85% | 85% | 42% | |
| From private companies | 10% | 10% | 9% | A percentage combining "from private companies" and "donations from the general public" was given in 2009. |
| Donations from the general public | 4% | 3% | ||
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