Product Strategy
Plentiful — Food Access Platform for NYC
A redesigned mobile app and admin platform serving over one million food-insecure New Yorkers — making it easier for people to find and access food assistance, and for pantry staff to manage distributions without technical expertise.
The Challenge
Plentiful was already serving food-insecure individuals across New York City, but the mobile experience was harder to use than it needed to be. Pantry operators — often volunteers without technical backgrounds — also struggled with the admin tools. The platform needed to become dramatically more intuitive for both audiences, without requiring significant backend changes.
Our Approach
Dan collaborated with Plentiful's internal team, engineers from Big Human, and external researchers to redesign both the consumer app and the operator-facing platform. The consumer app featured a custom icon system to distinguish types of support distribution, social sharing to help users spread the word to family members, and a QR-based reservation and check-in flow. The operator interface was rebuilt to let non-technical staff create and manage food pantry listings independently.
The Outcome
The platform enables users to discover assistance they're eligible for, register, check in to distributions, and share resources with family members — all from their phone. The redesigned operator tools put pantry staff in control without requiring technical support.