That’s kind of a weird non-answer to give in an “Ask the…” thread. I assumed they were human beings. I was asking for a little more detail. For example the only food bank I’ve seen before seemed to have very close to 100% foreign clients, perhaps in part because they weren’t eligible for food stamps? Obviously not all food banks will have that clientele, but do they tend to be elderly, families with children, people between jobs, homeless people, people with disabilities, or what?
How do you enforce that rule? Do you rely on the honor system, or do you track your clients somehow?
I ran a food pantry program in my town for almost 20 years. Our clientele fell into 2 main groups: those on Social Security, both the elderly and those on disability, and the working poor. The working poor would usually have had something that caused them to miss work such a illness with no sick pay, or a substantial expense such as a car repair that wrecked their budget.
We keep a computer checklist(names only) of when they last came to us, and I’ve got a pretty good memory when it comes to faces.
I’d say that about 15% of them do not speak English, 20% are elderly, 15% are homeless(and that number seems to be rising), but mostly it’s just families. We don’t ask why they need the food-we just assume that the do.
Thanks for doing this. We worked at the food bank in Anchorage for a number of years, which was a delivery service once a month. Here in Portland, we do Meals on Wheels once a week at a senior facility, and we buy and deliver food for weekend lunches for ten kids at a local elementary school. Those who believe that people in need are nothing but a bunch of freeloading losers have no fucking idea how close to the edge these people live, and how much they depend on this food. This elementary school is in a reasonably affluent middle class neighborhood, yet 25% of the kids receive subsidized lunches during the week. The father of one of the kids we provide for is a construction worker who was injured at work and has been unemployed since then. Her mother does menial work and there are other children in the family. This little girl, a 5th grader, cooks and cares for her two younger siblings. Knowing that there will always be food on the weekend allows her to focus on her schoolwork.
When I open the doors I hand everyone a number and have them take a seat in the warm building instead of standing outside in the cold. I’ve got hot coffee in the pot and cool jazz on the radio, and we all chat about whatever comes up, and if an interesting poll pops up on the Straight Dope I query the clients as to their opinions.
Czarcasm, is it considered tacky to donate canned pet food? I know people who use food shelves who have pets.
Not at our pantry. We ask if the client has any pets because they need to eat, too.
I wish I had a question, but I just wanted to say that this:
… is an awesome idea. We need more cooperation between programs like that. (Not that prison is a “program” but you get the idea.)
If that food pantry got pet care supplies, hygiene products, cleaning supplies, etc. those went into a storage closet and we would give them to people if they asked for them. We didn’t give out OTC meds; those were given to the local free clinic.
I mentioned feminine hygiene products at a meeting at my old church, and the pastor, a man in his 50s, cringed and went, “No! No! No!” and I replied, “If you aren’t comfortable buying those, you can still bring a can of soup.”
Coincidental to my post, this article appeared on the front page of this morning’s paper. I would urge any Dopers who are looking to volunteer in their communities to look into a local backpack lunch program to donate food or time or both. Kids going hungry in this country is shameful; the cutback in federal programs and funding has stretched resources to their limits. Hungry children can’t focus or concentrate, and consequently do poorly in school.
On the other end of the spectrum, there are disabled seniors on low fixed income who rely on Meals on Wheels for their one substantial meal every day. They pay according to their ability to do so. The people who deliver the meals are all volunteers, donating time and gas to help these folks out, but quite often there are not enough drivers, or there is a shortage of people to help serve lunch at the center, to bus tables, to run the dishwasher, etc. If you want to teach your kids the value of community service, volunteer and take them with you.
My grandmother used Meals on Wheels for a couple years before she went to the nursing home, mostly so she wouldn’t have to cook. She said the food was good, and she usually had enough for supper too.
As for backpack programs, that had to be discontinued in my old town because it was discovered that the food wasn’t eaten by the kids; it was eaten by the parents, or more commonly the food and backpacks were traded for drugs, most commonly meth. :mad:
The official term for that is “gleaning”. Some private individuals and organizations have done that, but many farmers are hesitant to allow it because of liability issues. :smack: My guess is that the prison had proper insurance coverage for this kind of thing.
Quite often, what goes into the backpacks can serve as a central or auxiliary dish for a family. We usually pair a can of chili with a box of mac and cheese, for example.
A local food bank - Gleaners - takes its name from this practice.
Shoulda said “…tomato soup.” 
I believe many food banks in the US are called “second harvest” after this practice.
I don’t mind if the parents eat it along with the kids. In this case, they, and not the children, were eating that food.
How often (on average) do you have to turn clients away because they’ve already had their food for the month? Once a day/week/month/year?
Many years ago, a Meals on Wheels driver told me about a client who fed his food to his dog. I have donated pet food to them ever since.
Reading your responses tells me that you honestly respect your clients and care for them. Thank you for being such a caring and kind person.