Earlier this year, Loyd took her dilemma to the Bryan School of Business and Economics. The Bryan School’s Capstone project pairs MBA candidates with local companies and organizations – the students provide business consulting in exchange for real-world learning experience. MBA students Lukas Greff, Michelle Lawler, Caroline Lowdermilk and Bianca Meister took on A Simple Gesture’s challenge, working together to research Guilford County’s current food distribution process, identify gaps and needs, and make recommendations for improvements.

“It was such interesting and impactful work,” says Dr. Mike Beitler, director of MBA projects and senior lecturer at the Bryan School. “The community’s needs are huge and getting food to the right places is critical.”

With the help of three community partners, the students built a list of local nonprofits working to address food insecurity. They surveyed these organizations and interviewed all those who responded, gathering and analyzing data about how they picked up food and provided it to those in need.

From there, they developed what Loyd and others consider the most important deliverable: an accessible and user-friendly database showing which businesses are donating food, as well as the pickup locations, schedules and the types of products provided. The database also includes which nonprofit organizations are picking up from each location and when, so partners can share knowledge and avoid duplicating services.

Loyd was surprised to learn that many nonprofits are not picking up food anywhere, but instead relying on more limited private donations and drop-offs. “We can help these nonprofits make new connections if they’re willing to go pick up food,” she said. “This can really help nonprofits if they want to grow.”

The effort also helped to identify businesses that could be new potential donors, says Michelle Lawler, one of the MBA students. For instance, one well-known restaurant franchise donates food from one of its locations now, but 16 of its other storefronts in Guilford County are untapped.

This powerful finding may not have been uncovered without the Capstone project, said Mary Herbenick, executive director of the Guilford Nonprofit Consortium. Most small nonprofit organizations simply don’t have the staffing or funding to conduct this type of comprehensive research.