Are Food Banks A Sham

Recently, I was sent a link to a video of a well know celebrity that was promoting a dollar for dollar match to raise funds for a national food bank organization. As I watched the video and follow up interviews, I looked at my wife and said, "I wish people understood how food banks really work".

I spent five years working as an Executive Director for a relatively small food pantry in Colorado. My first year there we served just over 10,000 people, by the time I transitioned out of that job, we were serving around 15,000. It was a memorable job full of crazy adventures and people, but in the midst of all our hard work, I came to learn a very confusing, and at times maddening truth about the Food Bank system.

First, let me explain the difference between a food pantry and a food bank. A food pantry is on the frontlines of solving their communities hunger crisis, they are exponentially smaller than a food bank, and they are often limited in resources available to them. A food bank is essentially a grocery store for food pantries, they rarely interact with the food insecure families in their communities, they are often operating on multi-million dollar budgets, and have access to untold funding riches through government and other grants. Another way to look t it is food pantries are essentially your local mom and pop shop, the food bank is a big box multi national store.

Three Truths About Food Banks:

1. They sell food to food pantries that actually distribute it. Basically, pallets of donated food get shipped all over through a large food relief organization that supplies the food banks. The food banks then make that food available to food pantries to buy at a discounted rate. The food pantries buy it and distribute it for no cost to hungry families in their communities. The exception, at least in my experience, was most produce and items that were about to or past expiration. I looked up the normalcy of food banks charging for donated food, because it was a hard thing for me to wrap my head around. I found attempts at justification because of procurement and shipping costs, but I also found articles headlining food banks in several states that raised prices so much that food pantries were struggling to afford it, which was hurting the people it was meant to help.

2. Technically, their impact numbers are not their own. Again, this goes back to who is actually distributing the food. When a food pantry buys food from a food bank, they have to keep a log of how many people received food on a monthly basis. There is no split between what a food pantry bought from the food bank and what food they procured on their own through community food drives. All the numbers get reported to the food bank, which they use to fundraise and report on.

3. They make it really difficult for food pantries to raise operating funds and food donations. Due to their size, "impact", and national network, they are typically first in line for grant funding, donor engagement, and food donations. I can't tell you how many times I heard "we already give to the food bank". Our organization restructured the way we operate, added some new programs, and were able to stand out more to funders. A lot of food pantries don't have the capacity to make moves like that, and as a result are often left in the dust, which ultimately means people in need go hungry.

In conclusion, I hope if nothing else this story inspires more research into the food bank system and how you can make the largest impact with your time, dollar, or can of tomato soup.