Are Food Banks Beneficial?

Jordan Voorhees
Professor East, Spring 2014




When I saw a mother with three little girls walk into the Waterloo Food Bank, where I
was volunteering that night, my heart broke. Volunteering there made me want to learn more
about food banks and whether they are truly helping their communities meet the needs of those
who struggle with food insecurity. Some argue that food banks are being abused by, rather than
helping those who struggle with a lack of food. Although food banks have their detractors, I was
able to find three groups of stakeholders who still believe food banks are beneficial to their
communities. The purpose of this paper is to provide information about each stakeholder group,
and determine if they believe food banks are still beneficial as a solution to the hunger problem
in the United States. The stakeholder groups are: those who utilize food banks, those who
donate food to food banks, and those who are benefactors to food banks.
People who use food banks to feed their families come from all different circumstances.
In the state of Rhode Island, a survey was done where they found that of the client households
they serve, 43% had to choose between paying for food or paying their heat and utility bill.
(Rhode Island, 2014). A study done in 1998, by using national data from the food security
supplement of the Current Population Survey, estimated that 10.5 million households, or 10.2
percent of all U.S. households, were food insecure(Biggerstaff, M. A., Morris, P., & Nichols-
Casebolt, A., 2002). People who are food insecure are not able to provide themselves or their
families with the proper nutritional diet recommended by the USDA. The study done in Virginia
found that 66% of food bank users in that area were women and 47% of users were African-
American (Biggerstaff, M. A., Morris, P., & Nichols-Casebolt, A., 2002). Another study done in
New York City showed that 60% of food bank users were women and 61% of users in the city
were African-American. The study also showed that food bank users in this location were
equally distributed among age groups (Bowering J, Clancy KL, and Poppendieck J, 1991).

These are some demographics of users who use food banks in different parts of the country.
For a more individual perspective of those who use food banks, consider Amandas story.
Four years ago, Amanda was in need of help from her local food bank. She was still in
high school with a baby boy on the way. She was determined to stay in school and pay for
college while working at fast food joints to make ends meet. When she turned to the county for
assistance with child care expenses, they told her she was making too much money to receive
assistance for those expenses. Then she turned to her churchs food pantry. The food pantry
coordinator worked with Amanda to supply her with healthy, nutritious food on a regular basis so
that her hard earned dollars could be spent on child care expenses. Luckily, with the help and
support from her church and local food pantry, in four years time she had graduated high
school, was on track to get a degree in accounting, and her son would be starting Kindergarten
in the fall (Food Bank, 2014). Amanda is not the only one who has struggled to put food on the
table for her family.
Just like Amanda, Marissa Miller and her husband struggled to put food on the table for
their two children after he switched careers and his pay was cut by almost 60%. Luckily Marissa
was able to get help from her local food bank where she also saw her childrens classmates
parents there and she didn't seem so terrified of being one of those people who needed help
getting food on the table (Kinsman, 2013). Her advice to the public about understanding people
who are food insecure is to know that if 1 in 4 is an accurate number of people with food
insecurity then, you know these people. They teach your children, put out your fires, deliver
your mail...we are not all lazy, unmotivated or unintelligent. We are people with families trying to
make it all work. Just like you (Kinsman, 2013). From the perspective of those who are
personally struggling with food insecurity it is obvious that food banks are beneficial to them and
that food donations are of critical importance to this group of people.
Food banks receive most of their food items through donations from individuals, grocery
stores, and businesses/restaurants. During the Rhode Island Community Food Banks last fiscal

year they distributed a total of 9.9 million pounds of food, including 2 million pounds of fresh
produce (Rhode Island, 2014). Just like the differences in the individuals who use the food
banks, there are differences in those individuals who donate food.
About a month ago a little girl named Anika was celebrating her 7th birthday. She asked
all of her friends to forgo giving her presents but instead to bring her non-perishable items,
canned foods, and noodles to donate to her local food bank (Silvia, 2014). Her story should be
an inspiration because it doesnt take much to donate a few items to the food bank and the food
banks can sure use all the help they can get. Food banks actually receive most of their
donations from grocery stores or local farms.
On December 9th of 2013, Whole Foods Market (specifically their Pacific Northwest
Regional locations) were recognized as 2013 Outstanding Food donor. They had donated over
4.2 million meals in 11 years (Food Lifeline, 2013). Local businesses and restaurants also
donate to food banks. In Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Smithfield and Lowes Foods partnered
together to help feed North Carolina families by donating more than 345,000 pounds of protein.
The donations went to the North Carolina Association of Feeding America Food Banks' seven
food-assistance organizations throughout the state as part of Smithfield's "Helping Hungry
Homes" program in late November of last year (Smithfield, 2013). Restaurant owners also are
willing to donate a helping hand to their community, just as Ninnie Baird does in Fort Worth,
Texas.
Mrs. Baird is the founder and owner of Mrs. Bairds Bakery who donates more than
100,000 loaves of bread to six major food banks in Texas. In order to assist food banks across
the state of Texas, Mrs Baird's is also donating $5,000 to the Texas Food Bank Network, which
advocates for all 21 food banks in the state (Mrs. Bairds, 2014). These individuals, grocery
stores, and businesses demonstrate they care and believe that food banks are beneficial.
Benefactors of food banks are politicians who support food banks by voting to provide
tax dollars to them. Administrators are benefactors who manage food banks on a day-to-day

basis. Volunteers are benefactors by providing time and resources to these organizations. Cash
investors are benefactors due to their monetary donations. Unfortunately, politicians are making
a lot of changes towards food banks and how much monetary assistance will be provided to
those who are food insecure in the coming years. Food banks across the country are preparing
for increased demand as Congress prepares to cut billions of dollars more from food stamp
program. About $9 billion from food stamps over 10 years is expected to be cut when changes
go into effect which will also affect food banks and food pantries across the United States
(Nixon, 2014). Although this change will be tough on food banks and the food stamp program
there are some cash investors willing to help out.
Florida Georgia Line is a country music duo who are doing their part to raise money for
food banks across America. For the past two years, Florida Georgia Line has played a benefit
concert for a local food bank in Nashville. They have also donated musical instruments to the
Hard Rock Cafe in exchange for donations to that food bank (Mansfield, 2014, pp.11-13). Cash
investors are continuing to help make a difference and make food bank administrators jobs
easier.
In Des Moines, Iowa this month, the Des Moines Area Religious Council was able to
expand from a 1,500 square foot warehouse to a 6,000 square foot site downtown. In the tiny
warehouse they were able to feed 34,000 people but are definitely looking forward to serving
many more in this bigger warehouse. DMARC Network Director Rebecca Whitlow states that
having the bigger warehouse is a complete relief. With the new square footage they are also
able to provide new programs where clients can pick their own groceries rather than pre-sorted
bags which Whitlow thinks gives people more dignity if they can pick out their own food
(Jackson, 2014, p. 7A). With the new warehouse opening up, DMARC is looking for many new
volunteers willing to lend a hand.
On the night I volunteered at the Waterloo Food Bank, a friend went with me who had
never volunteered at a food bank before. Amber states that her experiences volunteering that

night made her feel very blessed with how fortunate she is. Here in Iowa, she knew that people
struggled to make ends meet, but not to the point where thousands of donations needed to be
sorted daily just so families could put dinner on the table that night (A. Kracht, personal
communication, April 16, 2014). All these types of benefactors will continue to make an impact
on the future of food banks and their communities.
In conclusion, users of food banks, continue to be reliant on these programs and find
them very helpful in making sure their families have enough to eat. Those individuals, grocery
stores, and businesses/restaurants who are donating to food banks help cut down on food
waste and are making an impact in their communities. Benefactors who believe in the value of
food banks are critical so more money and manpower can go to help the food banks serve a
higher population of people who need help. It appears that there are many who continue to
value and support the use of food banks as one solution to the food insecurity problem.

Multiple paragraphs= 1 idea 1 paragraph






Writing Grading Rubric

Use of context HighX..Low
You have used the research context very well here. What is missing is
the social judgment assessment of stakeholders and the conclusion
describing how the social judgment analysis has shaped the format of
your presentation. This is a fairly significant piece of the assignment
context.
Awareness of audience HighX..Low
Well done! Good paragraphing (except for the benefactor one), clear
specific language, some really nice transitions (some missing).
Use of purpose throughout HighX..Low
Purpose you established (are food banks beneficial) is used
throughout and connected to each section of the paper. Also used to

conclude section this makes it strong. As noted above, this misses one
part of the assignment purpose: on the stakeholders (equal attention
to each identified stakeholder) and how you will invite them into
the conversation of the issue. The piece on the latitudes is further
discussed in the description of the annotated bibliography and was
discussed multiple times in class.
Relevant compelling content HighX..Low
Well done. Makes the issue real. Well supported information.
Use of illustrations HighX..Low
Very strong! The stories are all memorable and used well.
Use of credible Sources and Evidence HighX..Low
Good citations, but as noted on papers before paper with citations
requires a reference list. That is how the reader can know what type
of sources were used and assess their credibility.
Use of Language & Control of Syntax and
Mechanics
HighX..Low
Clear and well written.
Total HighX..Low
If purpose of the assignment had been met, this would be an A paper.
Unfortunately missing social judgment analysis and set up of
presentation weakens the paper in terms of meeting the assignment.
44/50
Process HighX..Low
Makes clear that peer review and planning were used.
9/10
Memo HighX..Low
Two well described goals. One has specific tool associated with it.
There are other tools that need to be considered for a research paper.
8/10