What makes a good Food Bank?

October 13, 2011 10:58 PM

Looking for insights into the creation of a Food Bank.

Heyo hivemind, here's the situation.

Through remarkable happenstance, I find myself on the board of directors of my local community association, as well as the chair of a committee who's purpose is to "enhance the quality of life in the neighbourhood". Lofty goals indeed.

So far the committee has mostly been devoted to promoting community gardening and urban agriculture. However, they are also very much looking for new projects.Tonight I proposed a Community Food Bank.

The suggestion was met with some enthusiasm, so I'm going to do a bit of research and make a proposal to the board at the beginning of November.

Has anyone been involved with starting a food bank before? Or worked for one and know what went well? Or used one and have a suggestion?


I'm going to do a survey to find out what the neighbourhood thinks about the idea, but beyond that I don't have much of a plan. The Green's consideration on the matter is greatly appreciated.

posted by sarastro to society & culture (6 answers total)

Previously. Scroll down for what look like some quite useful links.
posted by Chairboy at 11:28 PM on October 13, 2011

You're probably reinventing the wheel. Canada has lots of food banks and is well-represented in that area. Perhaps you mean a food pantry? A food bank provides some or all of the inventory for a food pantry.

So, I'd contact your local food bank (use this map) and see where their pantries are. If your community isn't being served by a food pantry, that's where you should start. If it is, and people are still in need of food, you'd do well to start by helping your local pantry get the word out, start food drives, etc.

Don't reinvent the wheel! The nonprofit sector is rife with duplication of services, and that makes it much harder for any given operation to succeed.
posted by juniperesque at 5:50 AM on October 14, 2011 [1 favorite]

I think there are two key things:

First, do what juniperesque suggests, and make sure that you are not duplicating an existing service. If there already is a nearby food bank or food pantry, offer to help them extend their service -- can you offer a satellite location, or weekly volunteers, or some other kind of ongoing support that will bring their service into your neighborhood?

Second, if you've checked and there is no nearby food bank/pantry and setting up a new one is the right option, look for partners. Around here, that often means a church, because they have facilities (that mostly get used only on Sundays, so a weekday food delivery is not a great inconvenience), lots of already organized volunteers, and a charitable inclination. Partnerships are far more efficient and likely to be self-sustaining than is doing it all from scratch alone.
posted by Forktine at 6:41 AM on October 14, 2011

With all of the above caveats echoed, I'll tell you about my favourite foodbank. I've never worked for them, though I have friends that do, and I've never used their services. I do work for one of the agencies that operates within the foodbank, so I have seen it in action up-close-and-personal.

The Cambridge Self-Help Foodbank is really unique, at least locally, and it's been very implemented. The strength of the agency, imho, stems from their understanding that food scarcity is not solved simply by giving people food. To that end, they provide programming, training, referrals, support.. and everything else that people need. They operate a co-op model that encourages (and mentors) participants to also work at the foodbank - giving them a sense of community and belonging, but also providing them something to put on a resume, and new skills to use.

The thing I love the most is that it's not "us helping them" it's community members helping community members. The agency is not 'just' a traditional food bank - so they've eliminated any stigma attached to going there.

Obviously it's a huge undertaking and the logistics of implementing something like it in your own community may be impossible. But I'd strongly encourage you to consider their model and whether it would be possible to do a scaled-down version appropriate to your community's needs.
posted by VioletU at 7:05 AM on October 14, 2011

Erm, I meant to say that it's been "very well implemented". Not very implemented. Though it has been very implemented too.
posted by VioletU at 7:07 AM on October 14, 2011

I hope this isn't a derail, but I've wondered why there aren't pet food banks? Most people I know who live either on the streets (I live by LA's Skid Row) or in SROs, RVs, etc., will go without food to feed their dogs (haven't seen many cats.)
Maybe including that would set your project apart from existing services.
posted by Ideefixe at 8:59 AM on October 14, 2011