Food Bank Explained – The Ultimate Must-Read before your Donate to food banks!

Introduction

Food is the most basic necessity of an individual to live in. We are all entitled as humans of all the fruits, vegetables, meat, and all kinds of food existing in our environment that are edible to eat.

However, hunger tends to be still evident in every corner of the world. Poverty and food insecurity made people experience this injustice in their rights to healthy and bounty food. With people’s suffrage to high and expensive food, food banks came to life and served thousands of people and later on, millions. Food banks are a part of a high-impact ecosystem.

The world’s first-ever food bank was established way back 1967, by John van Hengel who met a poor mother of ten children, collecting dumped foods from a grocery store. With the desire to help those below the poverty line, Hengel founded the St. Mary’s Food Bank that fed thousands of hungry people in the United States. The founding of St. Mary’s lit the wick of food bank establishment all over the world.

Food banks are pretty active in addressing the problem of hunger within our society. Nevertheless, what does food bank means in-depth? How does it work, and how can we find and select a good food bank near us? 

What is a food bank? 

Many people, in all kinds of situations, rely on food banks for a few or all of their meals.

If you’ve ever been hungry, you know it’s hard to think of anything other than that uncomfortable feeling of having an empty stomach, whether it’s in your schoolwork, family or social life, or whatever else! You must know that if your family is short of food, there is help. There are organizations called food banks all over Canada. They help families and individuals who cannot afford enough food by giving them food.

The Food Banks collect food from donations, through articulation with the conventional network of commercialization, storage, and processing of food. Food Banks contribute to the food supply of entities that make up the municipal social promotion and protection network, in addition to combating food waste in urban and metropolitan systems.

Issues on food wastes and food distribution imbalanced opened the gateways of food bank emergence worldwide. With the people becoming aware of the problem, they started popularizing and patronizing it.

Food banks are philanthropic organizations that collect and distribute food to those in need or people who are struggling in affording food items due to poverty. These organizations provide people with the opportunity to have the food items they want at a low price or even get those for free.

In a much deeper context, food banks do not only address the problem of hunger within citizens of society. Food items that are relinquished or have been discarded by certain food establishments and groceries are being reinstated to the food supply chain. These items are being sold or either given freely to the poor, thus, eliminating the problem on food wastes.

Furthermore, food banks operate in two ways; the frontline and the warehouse operation.

Frontline operation refers to the personal distribution of the stockpiled food items right to the needy people. This does not involve any governmental agency or other nonprofitable organization and goes directly to the hungry people. On the other hand, food banks that use the warehouse operation do not go directly to the people such that they coordinate with other organizations and intermediaries to do it.

Since they are a nonprofit charitable organization, food banks often rely on donors and volunteers to support and keep on their daily operations.

Goals of Food Bank

The Food Bank works daily to bring to those who most need the minimum condition of a dignified life, which is food. Starting from a well-structured action plan, with the creation of a Database that allows it to identify the real situation of our needy communities and, as a consequence, of their main demands, the project aims to minimize them, offering food and industrial surpluses from the most diverse segments, providing training courses and introducing “business” management techniques. You can donate to your local food banks, they will use the money donated to fill in the community food boxes so recipients get balanced meals or use the money for running their own facility.

Operations of Food Bank

The Food Bank’s working system is very simple. Donated food is collected at the locations and days indicated by donors. Then the donations are stored in the collection center, an own deposit of the Food Bank. In this place, nutritionists analyze and determine what types of food are necessary for institutions, according to the ideal amounts and nutritional values ​​to meet their needs. Subsequently, the qualified distribution of food occurs, delivered free of charge to assist institutions previously registered with the Management and Sustainability Bank.

Food Bank mission

The fundamental objective of Food Banks is to provide food aid to the poor by fighting against hunger and food waste.

Thousands of people are not getting enough food in Belgium. Tons of consumable food is thrown away every day.

To avoid waste, Food Banks collect some of these surplus products to make them available to the most disadvantaged among us.

How do food banks help our community?

Food banks in Canada accept donations of non-perishable food from people who can afford to donate (canned, dry, or packaged food). They also collect fresh food like milk, bread, and vegetables from various organizations. They then distribute that food to the people who need it.

There is always this saying that is known by many of us. It says that ‘No one should ever be left behind’. But this quote seems to be just words in reality. Poverty is still rampant, and many of us are still plunged into severe hungriness.

Luckily, there are still people who can turn these words into reality through their actions. 

Food banks are essential hunger warriors of society. They feed people who are unable to buy food items for their daily needs. 

Moreover, food banks don’t scorn people. They provide people with their needs to food supplies without contemplating their dignities as human beings. Truly, lots of us still feel ashamed of what would others tell us, but with food banks supporting and boosting our morale, it will no longer matter. 

Food banks, unlike what most of us think it is, do not make the poor lazy. Instead, they make extra efforts to educate and support people in addressing their own personal crises so that in the future, they don’t need to go to food banks again. It’s something like teaching a fisher to fish so that he can feed himself for his entire lifetime.

Who uses food banks? Who gets food from food banks?

Many people, in all kinds of situations, rely on food banks for a few or all of their meals at one time or another. Every month, nearly 900,000 Canadians receive assistance from a food bank. These are families with children, people who are unemployed or working, but whose wages are not enough to pay all the bills and buy food, people with disabilities, retirees, and newcomers to Canada looking for a job or struggling to earn enough to pay all their expenses.

The Food Bank initiative represents the fight against malnutrition and obesity, generating more health, well-being, less dropout, and better assimilation at school, less violence, greater social inclusion, more respect, more dignity, more citizenship for the people. By collaborating with the Food Bank, you or your company wins the most important thing: the certainty of helping those who need it. Through this demonstration of social responsibility and corporate citizenship, it also gains recognition from suppliers, the community, employees, customers, and the whole of society.

The work of the Food Bank with its thousands of Rotary Volunteers, Lions, Deacons, Boy Scouts, Employees Associations of Companies, Universities, in short, society as a whole, is overcoming the challenge of eradicating HUNGER, thus representing the commitment and the responsibility of each one with his neighbor. Food Bank is an example of “Self-Management” of society, this means that the population itself is capable of seeking solutions to its social demands, counting beyond the generosity and spirit of solidarity of the population, with the participation of “a little bit of each one”, to solve a problem of such social amplitude, known today as the greatest scourge of humanity, HUNGER.

Why Food banks near me are important to local communities?

Intending to minimize hunger and food insecurity through donations of food, Food Banks emerged to raise donations of food items that can be recovered, conducive to human food, for distribution with Institutions that work with low-income families and possibly even below the poverty line, from which many children arrive at institutions without breakfast due to lack of food at home.

The aim of Food Bank is to contribute to the reduction of food insecurity of the population in a situation of social and nutritional vulnerability, through the donation of food, the reduction of waste, the promotion of educational actions, the encouragement of social responsibility, and the establishment of partnerships between government, private initiative and civil society entities. Aiming to reduce food waste, it receives products considered to be outside the standards of commercialization, but still suitable for human consumption. It transforms what would be dispensed with precedence into food for those in need, contributing to the reduction of hunger and food and nutritional insecurity.

How food banks work?

The Food Bank Program is an important Canadian public policy that effectively contributes to the promotion of the human right to adequate food. In Canada, the Food Bank is part of the Municipal Policy for Food and Nutritional Security.

1. A network is made up of donors, between fixed partners, (including supermarkets, shopping centers, distribution centers, restaurants, and others), and occasional donors (individuals, events and other Food Banks belonging to the Network of Food Banks) Metropolitan
2. Another network is made up of institutions registered to receive food donations.
3. Food is collected from the donor network, evaluated and selected by the technical team of the Food Bank, and then passed on, in the form of kits, according to the number and age group of the public served by registered institutions. To be eligible for a donation, the institution must produce and distribute ready-made and free meals to people in socially vulnerable situations.

Completing the cycle of combating waste, food unfit for consumption is collected by the Urban Cleaning, where it is transformed into fertilizer, which will return as food for the city’s parks and gardens.  In addition to the distribution of food, the Bank’s team carries out periodic technical visits to institutions, to guide the best use of food, improve good practices, and promoting healthier menus. It also operates in the area of ​​food and nutrition education, promoting courses aimed at food handlers from registered institutions, workshops, and lectures aimed at training employees and the public that visits the Food Bank.

What foods are good with food bank? 

Apart from being budget-friendly or for instance, free, the food bank also provides items that are good enough to sustain your daily needs and to enjoy your wanted dish. Moreover, you can find food items that are healthy and good for your family.

Food in general: fruits and vegetables; cold and dairy products; grains and cereals; canned and preserved foods; pieces of bread and pasta; meats and meat products.

Other donations: hygiene material, cleaning, and cooking utensils.

The food bank also promotes the mitigation of severe malnourishment among children. With that on purpose, you will surely find perfect food products to serve on your family’s dining table.

Here are some of the good food you can have with food bank:

Protein and Frozen Meat

The food bank offers food that is highly composed of protein is essential in maintaining our body strong and robust. This includes canned tuna fish, meat, peanut butter, beans, oats and cereals, etc. which are good in strengthening your tissues and muscles. 

Rice

Whenever you are inside a food bank or either received items from it, this food item is always on the list. Rice is good enough to give your family a full meal. It is also versatile that it can be paired with various dishes on your food table.  

Pasta

Aside from it being able to provide large servings, pasta is also capable of building healthy and delicious meals. 

Oil and Honey

Oil is essential in cooking healthy dishes. It is commonly provided on the food bank for it does not only help in frying meat and food. It also adds texture and flavour to the food.   

Canned fruits and vegetables

Among all, canned fruits and vegetables are very much what you can find in food banks. These items are full of vitamins and minerals that will give your family a healthy food table. However, most of these canned fruits and vegetables are coated with sugar to prolong its life and consumption.

All in all, you can always choose among these good products that are offered in food banks which have to sustain your family’s day to day needs.

What food are not accepted at food banks?

Ready meals, candy, and bread with creamy fillings and expired products.

Who can donate to food banks near me?

Individuals, food industries, distribution centers, grocery stores, supermarkets, producers, retail chains, etc. By donating, the partner expands its social responsibility and citizenship actions, reduces costs with the disposal of products and contributes to the fight against hunger and the promotion of the human right to adequate food and also to combat food waste. The donor is exempt from civil and criminal liability in case of damage caused by the consumption of the donated food.

The impact of food bank

As we enjoy the food that we eat at a fancy restaurant, fast food, or either at home, we always have this little amount of food that is wasted over time. Little did we know, this small number of our food waste can even feed millions of hungry people around the world.

According to the 2011 study of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), about 1.3 billion tons of global food production is being wasted annually. This problem with food waste is what food banks are trying to address. Instead of throwing unused yet discarded items from the grocery stores, why not donate those to the food banks near you?

Economic Impact of food banks

Food banks create big impacts on the economic statuses of nations around the world. Lots of people buy food items to donate to food banks. With just that, we can contribute to our country’s gross domestic income. 

Additionally, through giving of food to those people with low income, they are allowed to spend their money on other needs, particularly their daily consumptions of electricity and water.

Citizens’ active participation in buying goods for food bank donations only shows how lively the economy will be. Likewise, people below the poverty line receiving those donations and spending their money on their other necessities contributes to the good economic cycle of their nation.

Moreover, food banks also provide jobs for some people, which adds up to economic growth.

Health Impact of food banks

Food insecurity and hunger always connect with the issue of malnutrition and socioeconomic development, particularly of the children. People who suffer from hungriness tend to be unhealthier in physique and to develop chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity.

With the food bank on the move, we can slowly reverse these impacts of food insecurity and address the issue on malnutrition. However, these actions are still not enough. 

Food banks are still asking for further support to provide healthier food banking continuously. 

What are other types of donations Food Banks are accepting?

Food Banks are looking for different kinds of donations: food, funding, materials, and time! Food banks are looking for food donations from food industry manufacturers, mass retailing and agricultural producers, and cooperatives

Food Banks are also looking for financial donations because they must be equipped with high-performance equipment and must train their employees. The operating costs, as well as the technical means, are financed by grants from local authorities, donations from companies, service clubs, and individuals, as well as solidarity contributions paid by the distributing associations. There are tax advantages for businesses as well as for individuals.

 Food Banks are also looking for donations of equipment: for example, for the collection of fresh produce, each Food Bank must be equipped with at least one refrigerated truck as well as suitable storage means. Finally, they need volunteers, ready to put their skills, their time, and their commitment to the benefit of the Food Banks.

How to become a volunteer of Food Bank

Nothing could be simpler: you can show your willingness to be a volunteer by submitting your identity and contact details on the site, by first choosing the Food Bank near you on the map of our network.

You can, if you wish, specify the functions that you could perform among those offered in the Food Bank that you have chosen.

You will then be contacted by a person in charge of the Food Bank who will be able to ask you for additional information and who will offer you an interview allowing you to specify your choice.

If necessary, you can take a “discovery trail” of the Food Bank, going successively to several stations, before making a decision.

Food Banks offer different redistribution formats; such as social grocery stores which offer food at reduced prices. Social grocery stores also offer support for people.

How do food banks get their supplies?

They collect food for free from public and private suppliers:

• the State, which subsidizes the head of the national network which enters into a public procurement contract for foodstuffs;
• mass distribution, which authorizes the harvest of fresh produce and products close to the use-by date but still edible;
• the food industries, which produce products with packaging or labeling defects;
• farmers, who donate crop surpluses of fresh produce;
• individuals, who can donate food products at the end of November and spring collections, according to the needs of the Food Banks.

Food distribution at food banks

Food Banks are at the service of charities that fight against hunger and social exclusion. These local charities are approved by Food Banks and must meet specific criteria. Food aid is granted to people in acute or chronic distress and this aid must be supplemented by social support aimed at combating exclusion. There can be no question of confusing ‘food aid’ with ‘complete nutrition’ since Food Banks can only give what they receive or collect.

Conclusion

Food banks are essential advocates of malnutrition and poverty. They have impacted our lives, especially of those below the poverty line who are served by these philanthropic organizations. By making such act and efforts, they have lit the goodness within us and raised awareness on various global issues such as food waste which should be addressed by the global nation. 

By looking into those weary eyes of those children whose stomach is empty, we can foresee what will happen to the future generation if we allow ourselves to waste our foods and resources continuously.

There is nothing wrong with food banking. Leaving anyone hungry is what is wrong. 

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