Why Canned Food Drives Alone Won't Solve America's Hunger Crisis

Foodshare recently received 125 milk coupons from the New England
Dairy Promotion Board - just a small piece of what this wonderful
partnership is providing to so many of our hungry neighbors!

When it comes to hunger in the United States, we’re faced with some scary statistics: according to a 2014 study by Feeding America, 49.1 million Americans lived in food insecure households in 2013. And 20 percent of those households included children.

Local food banks and networks are hard at work providing hunger relief to communities nationwide: Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization, annually serves 46.5 million people across the U.S. through its network of 200 food banks, according to its "Hunger in America 2014" study. But what you may not know is that these organizations have limited resources themselves. While approximately 100 million pounds of food is donated to Feeding America food banks each year via canned food drives, these items alone won’t solve the issue of hunger that so many Americans face. Tight budgets, limited volunteers, finite donations, and the short turnarounds required between receiving fresh foods and distributing them to families in need can be challenges in addressing the issue of hunger – and doing so with nutrient-rich foods.

Food banks and pantries across the U.S. are of critical importance, and perhaps even more important are the people who run them. We’ve partnered with The Great American Milk Drive to highlight the efforts made by employees and volunteers as they work to get nutritious foods to people who need it most. Read More...