4 Ways You Can Help Support Food Banks
Through our work with food banks across the country, we’ve learned a lot about the amazing work they do — as well as the challenges that they face. We know our community is deeply concerned with reducing hunger, and supporting your local food bank is a great way to do that. When it comes to hunger, just like reducing food waste, there are certain types of help that are a lot more effective than others. So, if you’ve been wondering how you can best support the food banks in your area, here are some tips to keep in mind:
Money may be more helpful than food.
It might sound counterintuitive, but the most useful thing you can give a food bank might not be food. Simply put, despite the good intentions behind them, individual donations of food are not a predictable enough supply to truly help a food bank feed their community at scale. As Paul Gaither of the Central Texas Food Bank put it: “While food donations are always welcome, most food banks can make monetary donations go even farther. At the Central Texas Food Bank, for example, we can provide 4 meals for every $1 donated.” In addition to enabling food banks to use their scale to get better purchasing power than individuals, money also offers them flexibility. A representative from Food Lifeline told us: “Food banks receive a steady stream of donations from farmers and grocery stores, but there are always gaps in product. A cash donation may help a food bank secure milk when there are no milk donations scheduled.” Moving food is also costly, so your donation dollars can help fund essential services like staffing and transportation, and support the sophisticated logistics required to connect fresh food with families in need.
Don’t just donate as a way to get rid of old food.
While we’re all for reducing waste in your home, one of the most humbling lessons we’ve learned from our nonprofit partners is that well-intentioned pantry cleanouts come with serious downsides for food banks and food pantries. The reality is that we all need to think about what folks in our communities want to eat, not just what we have on hand that we’d like to donate. You can start by putting yourself in the shoes of whoever is going to receive your donation. Peter Olsen of the White Pony Express put it this way: “When people ask about donating their extra food we always try to stress to them that just because someone is hungry, please don’t assume they will eat anything or should eat anything given to them. We should be trying to not only help people sustain themselves, but also provide them with a little dignity in the process. Think to yourself, ‘would I eat this?’, and if not, please don’t donate it.” As with most things in life, starting with a little empathy goes a long way.
Consider donating your time.
Because they get so many donations from businesses and farms, food banks at times have more food on hand than they have hands to sort through it. Volunteers are crucial for a well-functioning food bank, and many food banks use volunteers for the majority of their staff. This means that, aside from a cash donation, volunteering at your local food bank is the best gift you can give. We recommend contacting a food bank in your community and asking how you could be of most assistance. For a list of food banks in your area, visit Feeding America and enter your zip code.
Volunteer throughout the year, not just over the holidays.
While it’s fun and inspiring to be part of a small army of volunteers sorting pears or packing rice in November or December, it’s worth remembering that your local food bank might actually need your hands more in March or April. Just like with food, donations of time also tend to become sparser after the holiday season subsides. Food banks are also often busier outside of the Thanksgiving to Christmas window when they get most of their volunteers. For example, Karen Ponza of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank explained that they are, “busy year-round but are busiest during the summer, when children that would otherwise receive free or discounted meals at school need food and support.”
We hope this overview helps give you the tools you need to support the nonprofits working to end hunger in your community. Thank you for reading and we hope you’ll join us in building a better food system for everyone.
