But that doesn’t mean we need donations yesterday for demand today, it means we need donations today for demand today. And they don’t need to lay in an extra supply today for future demand tomorrow, they need future donations for demand tomorrow. No time travel required.
Look, this is not exactly an intractable problem. Just step up fundraising for the food banks, let people know that demand is up and supply is down, and you’ll see more donations. If for some reason people are unwilling to donate then local governments can step in with more money.
It’s not like there isn’t sufficient food for everyone, the problem is not enough donations of food, and not enough donations of money to buy food. All we need is a little more of both. Why do you imagine that this will prove to be impossible?
I’ve volunteered at a food bank here a couple times. The stuff they get is often dented cans, stuff on the verge of expiration, and stuff that didn’t sell for some reason. A portion of it is non-nutritional, e.g. candy.
I don’t know the ins and outs WRT the accounting, like tax writeoffs for the stores etc., but I would guess there’s a certain percentage of acceptable “waste” for them—stuff they projected they’d sell but didn’t—and that goes to the food bank. Supermarkets must have this stuff down to a science and I’d guess that contribution doesn’t fluctuate a lot.
An idea I may have missed up thread: around here some supermarkets bag and ring up bags of groceries, then leave them with a sign that says you can buy them and leave them as a donation to the food bank.
Other ideas like holding a benefit dance or something where people pay with a can of food, sure. As I read upthread, I suspect two causes for a pinch—more people needing the food, and those who donate having less to share.
On a greater scope there are many causes and organizations…breast cancer research, supporting local law enforcement and fire depts, disabled veterans, Salvation Army, Red Cross, United Way, MDA, and so on. They’re probably all hurting. Charity begins at home, as they say; maybe people will start reconsidering wheelchairs for Mongolia, Invisible Children, Save Darfur, and some of the aid aimed at people in other countries. I mean, has New Orleans been rebuilt yet?
Of course, this is just my community, just because my local food bank has had some success getting more donations doesn’t mean every food bank has done the same.
But the solution isn’t complicated: increased publicity that food banks need more help which motivates more fundraisers for food banks.
You’re asking for global “magic wand” solution, and I think people are saying there simply isn’t one. If the solutions mentioned in the previous messages don’t work then, unfortunately, food banks will run out. However there may simply not be a short-term answer to that without unacceptable changes to laws and regulations.
In the long term (i.e. years), the answer is to persuade politicians to make food banks less necessary by changing support systems for the poor. If that doesn’t work then, again, there is no answer.
I’m not trying to be callous, simply saying that just because you want there to be an answer doesn’t mean that there is one (at least an implementable one).
Maybe the “problem” you identify isn’t really a problem in the first place. Also, if it is a problem, it’s not my problem (because I son’t run, work at, or patronize a food bank).
Make it easier to donate.
Make it more worthwhile to donate.
Easier = collection stations outside of grocery stores. The Boy Scouts do their annual Scouting For Food drive by parking themselves outside of local grocery stores. They give people a list as they go in, and people drop off food on their way out. This allows people to donate without having to go out of their way.
More Worthwhile = tougher. You could ask the city for a short term tax credit for donations, but the cities are also hurting for money.
I’m not asking for magic wand solutions. I’m saying “If the current model doesn’t work, what then?”
There have been a ton of people who have argued, on this board and elsewhere, that charity is the answer to various problems. If charity isn’t getting it done, what then?
It’s a long-term question about long-term goals and our ability as a society to learn from what isn’t working. Again, I used the stats from the local food bank only because those were the stats I have. This isn’t a problem just for my local food bank.
Ah - I think I did not answer your actual question.
It is true, charity gets hit when the economy drops. There is also donor fatigue that kicks in when other issues arise - such as a hurricane on the other side of the nation siphoning money and effort from a local food bank.
I am one person that argues that charity CAN do a lot of the work, but I personally would not ONLY depend on charity. You also need government assistance as well, though it can sometimes go THROUGH the established charity.
So - when times are tough, you can ask the government to provide additional assistance to shore up the food bank. Unfortunately, that can lead to people assuming that they do not need to donate since the government will take care of it.
I thought you were arguing that donations to food banks are down, and demand is up, and so people going to food banks the past few weeks/months are getting less. And I agree that this has happened. And my answer is just that people need to be reminded that food banks need help, more newspaper articles of kids with big eyes looking at empty dinner plates, threads on message boards asking people to donate to their local food ban, and so on.
Or are you asking what MIGHT happen if suddenly charitable donations dry up completely? Well, then food banks close down and people rely solely on government assistance like food stamps. But you might as well ask what happens if voters decide to end government assistance, what will happen to hungry kids then? After all, if people become so hard-hearted they refuse to give charitably to needy people surely they’ll be hard-hearted enough to vote against government assistance too.
I guess I’m not as worried by the plight of slim pickings at the food banks as I might be, because I just don’t see hunger as a major problem in America. Sure, food assistance for the poor is worthwhile. But the biggest problem low income people have is housing, not food. In old stories from the 30s you’ll read about people selling their overcoat to buy bread which they eat in their freezing cold garret. But nowadays that person couldn’t get anything for their overcoat since there cheaply made in China but that doesn’t matter because there’s plenty of cheap and free food around, the problem is that they’d never be able to afford a garret to starve in. You’re out on the streets long before you get hungry.
Local grocery stores can be a great resource, if they are willing to help. Right now, my local supermarket is running a Children’s Miracle Network campaign; when I check out, they ask me if I’d like to donate a dollar to the CMN. But there have certainly been times when they’ve asked me if I’d like to donate a dollar to local food banks. I’m probably in the supermarket five times a week. Probably three of those times, I say yes to the request for a donation. Why? I’ll never miss that dollar, and other people need it. I know I’m not unique in this. People who wouldn’t go out of their way to donate (not implying that I don’t, because I do, but a lot of people don’t) will donate when the question is posed to them bluntly.
Schools, especially elementary schools, can be tremendously helpful. In November, 8YO mudgirl’s school had a food drive. For the month of November, students were encouraged to bring in as many non-perishable food items as possible, to donate to the local food banks. The classroom with the highest number of donations would get a popcorn party. You can believe that my daughter stayed on my ass about donations. There were probably 12 days in November that I sent in an item or two from my pantry; some were purchased special, some were just stuff I knew we weren’t going to use. Her class didn’t win, but it sure did make a lot of people aware that the need was there.
Local churches/scouting groups can get involved, as posted upthread, so instead of having to go to the food bank to donate, people can donate right outside the store.
Local businesses can be encouraged to give some sort of nominal discount in exchange for a donation. My local Curves-type-gym waived the registration fee in November in exchange for a donation of four non-perishable pantry items.
I direct a small charity (not a food bank), and here’s a technique that seemed to work well in my neighborhood: a selection of older kids/young adult volunteers was informally recruited; announcements of a collection day were made (this could be via community Web site; newsletter; flyer; entrance sign); and the kids went around on that day, knocking on every door, collecting a few items. It was pretty successful.
Here’s why I think it works: when I’m checking out or leaving a grocery store having just spent $$$ I’m not particularly in the “donor mood.” But we darn sure have some soup or pasta or whatnot that’s been in our pantry for months, and the organizer in me would just as soon free up the space (if I haven’t eaten it in two months, I probably won’t eat it ever, realistically). I think many middle class families have the same situation.
This process could be repeated every month or two. There are over 600 homes just in my subdivision; at one can/package each on average, that’s a lot of food.
Story from my local newspaper
It seems that donations have gone up, but not enough to meet need. This isn’t the first story I’ve seen in the paper about the food bank problem, just the most recent. There are stories being written - but the advertisement isn’t enough. I know that the chain grocery store that I go to most often has a means that allows shoppers to donate both cash and goods to food banks, but apparently that isn’t doing it either.
I think individuals within most communities don’t even know the true gravity of the situation. In fact, in an effort to help a friend get rid of a bunch of turkeys, I first called the homeless shelter we volunteer at, and they wouldn’t even return my calls. So I started looking for food banks in my county and got ahold of the one up the street who took all the turkeys. I found out on line that 37,000 people in my mostly-rural county are using the food bank each week. I was stunned by that number.
I think that if individual people knew how bad it really is, they would give enough to keep the food banks stocked. The key is in getting the word out. If you KNOW that 37,000 people would go hungry without assistance, and the food banks make it simple to drop off the donations, people would give.
We have “donation tickets” at our grocery store, where you can give $1, $3, or $5 at checkout. What I would like to see all year round is the shelving unit that goes up during the holidays (though I must say I didn’t see it this year, yet). You buy your groceries, plus a can or box or whatever of food you wish to donate. Then you just set it on the shelf on your way out of the store. People are more likely to do it if it’s painless. Most can afford to donate something from their weekly shopping budget.
I’m one of those pseudo-socialist Scandinavians, so I’ll say it: It’s a shared responsibility - use tax funds to feed the hungry. If people are going without food and the voluntary contributions won’t cut it, involuntary seems to be the way to go. Keeping the poor from starving is not on onerous burden to put on a modern society.
Chicago actually does have a food bank that is capable of safely utilizing restaurant and catering extras, but with the restaurant and catering businesses going down with the rest of the economy there’s less of that to go around, too.
Did I mention upthread that I volunteer about 3x a month? My comments here are snark-free.
I wonder what clientele a food bank serves. There are food stamps for the poor here in the US. So are the people using the food bank not poor enough to qualify for food stamps, or do food stamps not cover their needs or…? I’m just saying that some who don’t donate may think, ‘Sure, I donate…I pay taxes, don’t I?’
Also we’ve all been behind people in line at the market—and they’re buying Haagen-Dazs (sp?) and sirloin steak with food stamps. :smack::mad::eek: That compromises the charitable feeling some might otherwise embrace, I think.
I think it was common knowledge when I lived in El Paso that “Lone Star Card” (we have food stamp credits on a card here) didn’t automatically mean “poor.” Drug dealers, for instance, also qualified and availed themselves.
In order to qualify for food stamps in my state of residence I am allowed no more than $2,000 in assets - that’s total assets, including bank accounts, savings, etc. I think they don’t count the value of a vehicle in that, but I’m not sure. If you have more than $2k you don’t get food stamps, period.
So you can have no income but if you have, say, $4k in the bank you don’t get food stamps until you’ve spent down to $2k in the bank.
Food stamps budget, I think, something like $25-30 for food per person per week maximum (last I looked into it a 2 person household could get no more than $270/month but one of them but that would be with special inclusions such as disability - healthy people are more or less $100/month each). It’s hard to eat a decent diet at that price, and it tends to be very heavy on starches, low on fresh fruits and vegetables. That’s a potential disaster for someone like my husband, who has type II diabetes. It also requires a lot of cooking from scratch, and makes no allowances for any kind of special dietary need (such as diabetes, food allergies, etc.) So even if you get food stamps they seldom cover everything.
We covered this in a prior poverty thread, that getting the occassional treat food really helps boost one’s mood. A quart of Haagen-Dazs for a family of four might be for a birthday party or something. Now, gallons of Haagan-Dazs is another matter. As for that steak - I can stretch 1 pound of steak into 4 meals for 2 people, in which case buying good meat makes a hell of a lot of sense. Buying high-quality protein is not a bad decision and possible on a tight budget if you really are buying your grains and stuff from scratch.
Keep in mind, too, that many people who do qualify for food stamps have some income. Frankly, I’d rather the poor buy a good quality steak than 14 boxes of “convenience foods” like mac and cheese and pizza. People have screwy notions about food and weird priorities.
Regarding drug dealers and other people with undeclared income…You betchya. People will slip through the cracks. However, I do not assume that most of the recipients of pantry food are crooks. I assume that most of them need the food and most of them are trying to feed their children. If we end up supporting crooks, we either need to find a way to establish illegal earnings or we have to eat it.
:eek: That compromises the charitable feeling some might otherwise embrace, I think.