Fight Against Hunger
Foodbank of the Rockies upgrades security to protect badly-needed food supplies
- By Wendi Burke
- Oct 06, 2015
Food Bank of the Rockies (FBR) is a member of the Feeding
America network, which consists of more than 200 food
banks and 61,000 agencies that provide sustenance, security
and hope to 46.5 million Americans struggling with
hunger every year. The Foodbank of the Rockies, located in Denver,
Colorado, recently substantially upgraded their security system with
an updated 3xLOGIC NVR and new IP megapixel cameras. iCAM
Video Management Solutions, Inc., a security integrator, has been
instrumental in providing design and installation expertise for FBR
since they installed their first security system in 2008.
Nearly 800,000 people in Colorado struggle with hunger. The
Food Bank of the Rockies has been leading the fight against hunger
throughout Metro Denver, rural Colorado, the Western Slope and in
Wyoming for the past 36 years. FBR has provided more than 519 million
meals to people in need since inception. Each year, the food
bank procures and distributes food through direct service programs
and in cooperation with 600 partner agencies, enough to provide
more than 119,000 meals each day.
In 2015, FBR embarked on a renovation project to their main facility
in Denver. This is necessary to meet the food distribution needs
of the community FBR serves. Ten years ago, no one could have predicted
the hit the US economy would take and the tremendous strain
it would put on the food banking system.
“This renovation will increase our food distribution capacity by
about half, allowing us to distribute 56 million-plus meals to the food
insecure,” explained Tony Alexis, Chief Operations Officer, Food
Bank of the Rockies. “As part of this project, we are upgrading our
security system to be a more effective participant in the Food and
Drug Administration and American Institute of Baking food defense
strategy. We will accomplish this important objective by having more
and higher quality cameras, and by better controlling access for the
many people who come through our doors.”
Food Bank Challenges
Prior to the current upgrade, FBR’s sevenyear
old video system was comprised of 30
analog and two 360-degree view IP cameras,
and an older-model DVR. “We were experiencing
some shrinkage here and there. We
also handle government commodities for
which the officials wanted us to demonstrate
stronger security in order to meet contractual
obligations,” commented Alexis.
Alexis recounted how the older system
was effective in catching some of the volunteers
and customers taking things they should
not have. It also recorded a few truck accidents
in the yard, and helped disprove someone’s
claim of an “accident” while on FBR
property. However, as time went on it was
clear that camera coverage and video quality
were lacking, and FBR knew they needed to
do better. “We’ll continue to look for shrinkage
but now with greater image clarity, and we
can put evidence on a DVD. We have lots of
volunteers at our site. We rely on volunteers,
but it’s hard to find good volunteer help. Also,
some are court-ordered, and we need to more
effectively monitor them.
“Our upgraded facility will now be
121,000 square feet. The new system will
give us the coverage we need and enable us
to watch incidents much more closely. With
this expanded coverage we’ll be able to see
what we have to be able see to meet our obligations
and better manage operations.”
Improved Video Quality for
More Timely Actions
FBR’s upgraded video surveillance system
will total an eventual 64 cameras—doubling
the current camera number. “One dollar is
worth four meals, so when we have shrink or
loss or an accident, we’re taking meals away
from needy people,” said Alexis. “We’re very
serious about controlling expenses. We have
a lot of food, a lot of different volunteers in
here every day, and forklifts constantly in action.
A simple mistake on a forklift can cost
$200 or more, and a major incident can easily
cost us the capacity to provide thousands of
meals. However when something happens,
the answer is often ‘no one did it.’ Now, with
better video quality and coverage, we’ll be
able to catch those mistakes and accidents,
and then we can implement better training
and supervision, or take other actions to
ensure high quality work practices that will
reduce our expenses and losses.”
Installation of New Video
Surveillance System
As part of a commitment to their community,
3xLOGIC donated their V7300 Series NVR
Appliance pre-configured with VIGIL VMS
software for FBR’s upgraded video surveillance
system. Lynn Lowman, of iCAM, has
been involved with FBR for nearly eight years.
Lynn assisted FBR staff to secure an initial
grant for their first security system. Lynn and
iCam provided consulting and installation expertise
to keep the system in top shape.
Lowman encouraged FBR to contact
3xLOGIC to ask for partial support in securing
equipment for the current project
upgrade. For this project phase, he provided
design and installation of the newlyupgraded
system with IP cameras, as well
as retaining the legacy analog cameras.
The new IP cameras, purchased by FBR are
mainly 3xLOGIC VISIX 3-megapixel cameras,
along with a 20-megapixel, 180-degree
Arecont Vision IP camera. The 3xLOGIC
hybrid NVR supports both IP and analog
cameras, helping to ensure that FBR can
protect their investment, while giving them
the flexibility to upgrade as new needs arise
and budget becomes available.
For more information, visit http://www.
foodbankrockies.org/ and http://www.feedingamerica.
org/
This article originally appeared in the October 2015 issue of Security Today.