Food banking is rather like food rescue, but on a much larger scale. Food Banks (and America’s Second Harvest, their national association) are nonprofit organizations that deal primarily with food manufacturers and distributors, gleaning product in quantities that would overwhelm most individual charities. Food Banks then offer the goods they have rescued to local hunger related charities, charging only a small per-pound shared maintenance fee.
From the perspective of a food pantry or other charity, using a Food Bank is a lot like purchasing, with the key differences being that a Food Bank’s inventory changes more quickly than that of a grocery store, and that Food Bank food costs considerably less.
Financial donations used towards acquiring Food Bank food are eligible for the same tax benefits as those made towards purchasing food commercially, and some states offer additional Food Bank related tax benefits. (See Appendix 3 for details.)
Using a Food Bank will allow most charity food programs to acquire and distribute at least five to ten times as much food as they could through any other means.
Conclusion
To develop a food supply adequate to meet the need in their communities in a cost-effective manner, most charities should acquire at least 3/4 of their food through their local Food Bank, with the remainder coming from either small-scale food rescue or the targeted purchasing (either directly or through food drives) of specific items frequently requested by clients which the Food Bank does not regularly offer.
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