What is a Food Bank?

Most people think of a food bank as a charitable organization which stores and distributes donated food and other products. What many do not know is that this food is then distributed to a variety of community agencies that serve people in need.So, the focus of food banks is not to provide food directly to low-income individuals and families. More specifically, food banks provide food to other community based agencies that directly provide food to low-income families in need at no cost to the families in need.

 

However, the term “food bank” is often mistaken for these agencies that provide food directly to individuals. The agencies generally have limited warehouse space from which they serve a very small geographic area. So, they rely on food banks to act as the storage faculty or depository of emergency food.

 

Additionally, food banks in Florida play a critical role at the front lines of our emergency preparedness. When Hurricane Andrew reaped havoc on south Florida, Daily Bread Food Bank, a member of our organization (the Florida Association of Food Banks) was there working with local agencies to make sure displaced citizens were provided food. In conjunction with Florida’s emergency management team, food banks play a crucial role when there are community emergencies.

 

There are approximately 24 food banks in Florida. Some are very small and have rural operations; some are large enough to store and distribute many millions of pounds of food each year. In Florida, most rural counties do not have a food bank located in their county and are served by a food bank in another county. Therefore, our member food banks often serve several counties.

 

Food banks receive food in many different ways. The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) is one key food assistance program. In 2002-2003 Florida received about 2.7 million in federal (TEFAP) funds to cover storage and distribution costs.

 

Twenty four Florida food banks participate in TEFAP. For most food banks, EFAP is a key program, but is one of many food bank programs. Food banks also participate in the Brown Bag program (serving the senior population), Kids café and other programs serving children and other programs.

 

All of our members are either directly or indirectly affiliated with America’s Second Harvest (secondharvest.org), the largest charitable source of food in the country. America’s Second Harvest solicits and distributes donated food to a network of almost 200 food banks nationwide. Florida’s food banks receive and distribute this food to their network of over 3,000 local agencies. In addition to soliciting and distributing food, America’s Second Harvest provides training and technical assistance to member food banks, advocates for federal food programs, and educates policy makers and the public about hunger.

 

Florida Association of Food Bank members distributed over 12 million pounds of food to over 3,000 community-based agencies in 2002. These agencies organizations are the churches, synagogues and non-profit organizations in your communities that provide food from food banks to hungry families and individuals in Florida.

 

Our member food banks are very efficient and operate with low overheads. Due to the high levels of community support, broad base of volunteers, and industry support, member food banks typically leverage approximately $12 worth of food for every dollar received. As efficient as this network is, it cannot come close to meeting the need.