Can we bank on food banks?

Every once in a while you'll find yourself at the grocery store and there are trucks outside waiting for your donations for the hungry. Everyone's first thought is to donate some ramen or canned food. They are relatively cheap and stay fresh for longer right? Not exactly. Though you are lowering the rates of those families going hungry, unknowingly you are widening the gap between those well nourished and those who are food insecure.

So with an influx of people donating their unwanted cans and processed noodles, where does that leave people who are actually receiving the donations? First off, these food banks are unable to say no to donations that will provide no nourishment. Sodas and candy are frequently donated food items because of their shelf life. But if someone is going hungry, they would much rather want to grab something substantial that represents a meal rather than snacks. in "Overburdened Food Banks Can't Say No to Junk Food", Farmer tells why junk food can actually be extra detrimental to certain families. A woman goes into the food bank frequently to feed a family that has diabetes and heart disease. Junk foods will not help these people! They will actually hurt them faster than someone healthy eating these foods. These families are forced to take the junk food because they are told that if they don't accept all offers, it will make them seem ungrateful and volunteers are less likely to help in the future.

Once we are informed why don't we just donate fresh fruits and vegetables to those in need? The first factor is cost. Fresh foods cost more and are more likely to go bad before they are put to good use. The donators are aware of this and would rather their money be spent well instead of wasting money on something that will be thrown out due to mold. In addition food banks don't ask for fresh produce because they expire quickly and are not able to be distributed to families in a reasonable amount of time. Items such as eggs, are plentiful in vitamins and minerals but are likely to break so the food banks don't even want to deal with this problem. Same with milk, it goes bad too quickly without refrigeration.

This topic becomes tricky because not only does it take end on the change of the donator but the food bank system needs to become more efficient to allow way for the more nutritious -perishable foods. My initial thought is to have a fridge section at food bank warehouses in order to store items such as milk, eggs and produce. Of course this would raise prices but the amount of "real" food given to families would be improved. Another option requires cooperation from grocery stores. They could have special deals for donations. For example, buy one gallon of milk, get the other 1/2 price for donation, or even free.  Having volunteers picking fruits in the fields rather than asking for donations at the grocery store would save time in the ripening process meaning fresh produce could be distributed more efficiently. Any ideas to maximize the amount of nutritious/perishable food that can be stored in these banks?


Reference:

Farmer, Blake. Overburdened food banks can't say no to junk. Jan 13, 2011. NPR. 23 April 2014. Retrieved from <http://www.npr.org/2011/01/13/132864584/high-demand-nutritional-dilemma-vex-food-banks>

FoodBank1.jpg Retrieved from <http://krapuul.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/foodbank1.jpg>

Lane, Melissa. Addressing the nutritional quality of food donations. March 1, 2007. Food and Nutrition. 23 April 2014. Retrieved from <http://www.foodandnutrition.org/Online-Exclusives/2007/Addressing-the-Nutritional-Quality-of-Food-Donations/>