Feeding America is a United States-based nonprofit organization that is a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other community-based agencies. It is the third largest U.S. charity. Feeding America was known as America's Second Harvest until August 31, 2008.
History
Grand Opening - Second Harvest Food Bank of OC - Grand Opening of new facility for the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, January 26, 2008 in Irvine, California. (A member of FeedingAmerica)
In the late 1960s, when John van Hengel, a retired businessman in Phoenix, Arizona began volunteering at a local soup kitchen, he began soliciting food donations for the kitchen. He ended up with far more food than the kitchen could use in its operations. Around this time, he spoke with one of the clients, who told him that she regularly fed her family with discarded items from the grocery store's garbage bins. She told him that the food quality was fine, but that there should be a place where unwanted food could be stored and later accessed by people who needed it, similar to how banks store money.
Van Hengel began to actively solicit this unwanted food from grocery stores, local gardens, and nearby produce farms. His effort led to the creation of St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance in Phoenix, the nation's first food bank.
In 1975, St. Mary's was given a federal grant to assist in developing food banks across the nation. This effort was formally incorporated into a separate non-profit organization in 1976.
In 2001, America's Second Harvest merged with Foodchain, which was the nation's largest food-rescue organization at that time.
In 2005, Feeding America began using an internal market with an artificial currency called "shares" to more rationally allocate food. Currency is allocated based on the need, and then individual banks bid on which foods they want the most, based on local knowledge and ability to transport and store the food offered. Negative prices are possible, so banks could earn shares by picking up undesirable food. The previous centrally planned system had penalized banks for refusing any food offered, even if it was the wrong type to meet their needs, and this resulted in misallocations ("sending potatoes to Idaho"), food rotted away in places that didn't need it, and the wrong types of food being delivered (e.g. not matching hot dogs with hot dog buns).
In May 2007, it was featured on American Idol, named as a charity in the Idol Gives Back charity program.
In September 2008, the organization name was changed to Feeding America.
In August 2009, Columbia Records announced that all U.S. royalties from Bob Dylan's album Christmas in the Heart would be donated to Feeding America, in perpetuity.
There has been a rise in the numbers suffering from hunger since the financial crisis of 2007â€"2008. In 2013, the USDA reported that about 49 million U.S. Americans were now facing the condition, about one in six of the population. In September, they launched Hunger Action Month, with events planned all over the nation, to raise awareness and get more U.S. Americans involved in helping out.
In 2015, Feeding America saved more than 2 billion pounds (~907 tonnes) of food that would have been thrown away otherwise, but would instead be distributed to hungry families.
Network programs
Feeding America works to educate the general public and keep them informed about hunger in America. The national office produces educational and research papers that spotlight aspects of hunger and provides information on hunger, poverty and the programs that serve vulnerable Americans. Feeding America's public policy staff works with legislators, conducting research, testifying at hearings and advocating for changes in public attitudes and laws that support Feeding America's network and those the organization serves.
In 2017, Feeding America announced a plan to increase the nutritional value of food from food banks. By 2023, the group plans to offer more fruits and vegetables, and provide training so they can distribute more produce, whole grains and lean proteins.
Notable food banks in the network
There are more than 200 Feeding America food banks, each of which is "notable" for the work it does in its own area. A complete, and current, list is available at the Feeding America web site. These are just a few of the banks in the network:
- Alameda County Community Food Bank in Oakland, California
- Arkansas Foodbank Network in Little Rock, Arkansas
- Atlanta Community Food Bank] in metro Atlanta and north Georgia
- Banco de Alimentos de Puerto Rico in Bayamón, Puerto Rico
- Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado
- Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, D.C.
- Community Action Services and Food Bank in Provo, Utah
- Community Food Bank of Central Alabama in Birmingham, Alabama
- Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona in Tucson, Arizona
- Connecticut Food Bank in East Haven, Connecticut
- Feeding America San Diego in San Diego, California
- Feeding Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida
- Feeding the Gulf Coast, Theodore, Alabama serving the central Gulf Coast
- Feeding America West Michigan in Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Food Bank for Larimer County in Fort Collins, Colorado
- Foodlink in Rochester, New York
- Food Bank For New York City in New York City
- Food Bank of Alaska, Inc. in Anchorage, Alaska
- Food Bank of Delaware in Delaware
- Food Lifeline in Seattle, Washington
- Forgotten Harvest in Metro Detroit
- Freestore Foodbank in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Gleaners Community Food Bank in Southeastern Michigan
- Good Shepherd Food Bank in Maine
- Greater Boston Food Bank in Boston, Massachusetts
- Greater Chicago Food Depository in Chicago, Illinois
- Harvest Hope in Columbia, South Carolina
- Hawaii Foodbank, Inc. in Honolulu, Hawaii
- Houston Food Bank in Houston, Texas
- North Texas Food Bank in Dallas, Texas
- Philabundance in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Redwood Empire Food Bank in northern California
- Roadrunner Food Bank in Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services in Sacramento, California
- Second Harvest Food Bank in Irvine, California
- Second Harvest Food Bank in southern Louisiana
- Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio in Lorain, Ohio
- Second Harvest Inland Northwest in Spokane, Washington
- Second Harvest North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida
- Vermont Foodbank in Barre, Vermont
- Virginia Peninsula Food Bank in Hampton Roads, Virginia
See also
- Second Harvest Toronto (Canada)
Notes
External links
- Feeding America Online
- Hunger Action Month
- BBB Wise Giving Report on America's Second Harvest
- Charity Navigator report
- Canice Prendergast (13 August 2015). "The Allocation of Food to Food Banks" (PDF).Â
