The chart above shows client numbers - actual client numbers (the blue line) and the total people in the households of those clients (the orange line). The most obvious takeaway is the numbers are without doubt trending down. Extrapolated, we could be below 100 clients at each distribution by December. Of course, the trend could flatten or even reverse, but it makes sense to plan based on available data.

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A slightly less obvious point is that the orange line indicates the average household has about 4 members (multiply any point on the blue line by 4 and you would pretty much generate the corresponding orange line value). But that average hides the fact a substantial minority of clients live alone - and the maximum number in a household we served during this period was 11. Giving the same amount of food to each of these clients makes little to no sense - a fact that many who took the "Building Back Better" survey intuitively recognized.

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The second chart is not directly relevant to the distribution model itself - I prepared it in anticipation of a Board discussion on our visit limitation policy - but it is interesting. First, without running the report, I would not have guessed this was the pattern. We see so many familiar client faces at distributions, it is easy to assume the bulk of our clients are regular users of the Pantry. The data tells a very different story.  In the context of thinking how we build back better though, it tells me most clients use Daily Bread as an emergency stop-gap, and do not need any additional individualized help to get back on their feet. By the same token, it suggests thinking about how we can better help our relatively few "frequent fliers" is not an overwhelming task.