Written by Adam Radel
In Utah, nearly 317,000 people, including over 93,000 children, are facing hunger. These figures reflect the real struggles of families, friends, coworkers, and neighbours in the community. Each year, Thanksgiving Heroes, a national nonprofit, is dedicated to easing this burden across multiple US cities. Through donations, they gather the resources and volunteers needed to buy, assemble and deliver Thanksgiving meals to local families in need. Their mission is clear: No table should be empty on Thanksgiving.
Every year, I look forward to a new fall season, the buzz of the holidays approaching, and one of my favourite seasonal traditions: volunteering with Thanksgiving Heroes.
For the past four years, I’ve had the privilege of helping this incredible organization deliver Thanksgiving meals to families in need. But it’s not just about loading my car with boxes of food and driving around. As a GIS professional, I’ve been able to use my skills – and FME – to make a bigger impact.
I’m a Manager of Infrastructure Data Management at HNTB, a large infrastructure firm that uses FME to integrate and manage data for various clients. I’ve been an FME evangelist since 2015, always tinkering and experimenting to see what I can accomplish with it. So when I first volunteered with Thanksgiving Heroes, I immediately saw an opportunity to streamline the way they assigned delivery routes to volunteers.
From paper maps to “Turkey Mapping”
On that first volunteer day, my family and I piled into the car on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, excited to help. We waited in line, collected our three assigned delivery addresses, and got ready to navigate using Google Maps. It was heartwarming to meet the families and know we were making their holiday special, but I couldn’t help noticing there was room for improvement when it came to organizing the routes.
I reached out to the Thanksgiving Heroes Salt Lake City Executive Director, Jenni Griffin, and offered to help. I knew FME could make this process more efficient, and she gladly accepted my offer. Now, every autumn, I dedicate a few hours to “Turkey Mapping” each night for a week leading up to the big day.
Optimizing food delivery routes with FME
Thanksgiving Heroes receives over 2500 family nominations from schools and communities. Before FME, the management process was manual and tedious. Volunteers were given a list of addresses on small pieces of paper cut from printed Excel sheets, and it was up to them to figure out the best route using Google Maps.
With FME, I’ve completely transformed route planning. I pull the addresses using FME into an Esri geodatabase and leverage routing tools to create optimized routes. Each volunteer is assigned three stops, and FME maps the best path for them to take, minimizing drive time and reducing the carbon footprint. It’s incredible how much time this saves – both for the 800 delivery volunteers and for Thanksgiving Heroes coordinators.
For the volunteers, I create one-page info sheets using FME and an HTML report generator. These sheets include everything they need: addresses, instructions, names, and even QR codes that link directly to Google Maps for easy navigation. There’s also a script with what to say when they deliver the meals, making the process as smooth as possible. The feedback from volunteers has been fantastic – when the change was first implemented, they raved on the local Facebook group about how they loved the new system’s efficiency.
Expanding to Ohio and beyond
The success of the FME route optimization in Utah has led to its expansion. For the last few years, I’ve helped Thanksgiving Heroes replicate the process in Cleveland, Ohio, where we delivered around 1500 meals. FME made it easy to scale, and it’s so rewarding to see the impact spread to other cities.
I’ve also built in tools to catch duplicate nominations, which frees up spots for additional families. Thanks to FME, we’ve identified at least 10 duplicate addresses each year – meaning 10 more families receive meals instead of one family getting two. Every meal counts, and I’m grateful FME allows me to make this kind of difference.
A special yearly tradition
Volunteering with Thanksgiving Heroes has become a family tradition for us. My kids, now teenagers, still love getting involved and delivering meals each year. They’re even curious about the behind-the-scenes work, asking me how I optimize the routes and create the maps. I’ve shown them the FME workbenches and explained the process, and it’s fun to see them take an interest in what I do.
For me, this experience goes beyond GIS or FME – it’s about giving back. Volunteering with Thanksgiving Heroes reminds my family and me how fortunate we are, and it gives us a chance to help others in a meaningful way. Thanks to FME, I’m able to make the experience even better for hundreds of other volunteers and the families they serve.
I’m proud of the work we’ve done together, and I’m excited to continue making a difference with Thanksgiving Heroes, one optimized route at a time.
Visit Thanksgiving Heroes’ website to learn more about volunteering or donate to their cause.
