How Do Food Banks Affect The Community?

During my second week of my community health hours, I was placed at River City Food Bank. River City Food Bank’s main goal is to lessen hunger in the Sacramento region by offering healthy food and assistance to vulnerable populations. They do not only provide healthy food but they also provide nutrition education and counseling. In addition, they provide diapers for babies and the older population. They also provide health services for mothers and assist them with contraceptives and other important education for their women daily life. Their mission is to help people from all ages, from homeless to the working poor and families who are struggling.

I met with Maria Thompson and Mark Paxton from the Community Food Bank in regard to their site improvements. The Food Bank is requesting CSDC administer a contract with Avila Construction for their site improvements to San Felipe Rd frontage and parking lot improvement that access their building. The contract amount is $57,461.The Food Bank Board has approved the expense and repayment in full to CSDC if we choose to administer the contract. A repayment agreement between the Food Bank and CSDC would need to be drafted prior to approving any contract.

Thesis Statement: The Houston Food Bank uses the efforts of volunteers as well as donations to support the reduction of hunger in the community.

Even though socio economic status is a huge determinant of food bank usage, I believe

In conclusion, hunger in America is at an all time high due to poverty and the economy. The increasingly high number of starving children has gone up over the past years and needs to be stopped. There are government programs set up to help stop hunger in American, such as, SNAP Food Stamps and WIC. We can get involved by volunteering with Feeding America or other non-for-profit organizations set for feeding the hungry. Food donations and monetary donations have always been a great way to help out for those who don’t have the time to donate.

By having your friends and family donate canned goods, you can make a difference. If a person skips the coffee shop for one day, that money could go towards giving a hungry family a meal. By creating a food drive, others can help these families as well. There are countless ways to through a food drive. You can have a competition with your friends to see who can gather the most food. You can collect donations from your coworkers. You can even have a gift party for your friends to come in with the canned goods. Be creative and have fun while helping fight hunger. By collecting food, you will provide a meal to those who do not have a guaranteed chance of eating. To create a food drive, visit the link

According to Reuters, approximately 47 million people receive Food Stamps. That equates to 1 in 8 Americans (Abbott). Food Stamps is away to supplement those who are having trouble finding jobs and supporting their families. There are individuals who take it for granted, and abuse the system. Many people apply yearly for assistance, but get turned away because their case is insufficient, or there is simply not enough room to accommodate them. According to an article, states that since Food Stamps are running out of funds and people are turning to food banks for support (Food Assistance Becoming the "New Normal). Food banks are designed for extreme measures such a natural disaster, extreme weather conditions, and the homeless.

During the time I spent volunteering at John C. Lincoln’s Food Bank, I was able to provide food, individual hygiene items, and infant supplies to families struggling to obtain these critical items for their families. When I first arrived at the food bank, I spent time constructing care packages with soap, toothbrushes, personal wipes, and other essential items for health care. Later in the day, I had the unique opportunity to assist with the simulated grocery store within the food bank. The structure of the store allowed individuals receiving food to feel as though they were actively participating instead of passively accepting food and feeling helpless. Overall, I was able to instill a sense of self-efficiency in individuals who were struggling to provide for their families while personally interacting and sharing my time in a meaningful way.

Imagine your stomach growling, a feeling of emptiness, fatigue, and an inability to concentrate. Most people would associate these feelings with hunger and eat. Unfortunately, many Americans do not have the luxury of eating because of living in poverty. According to the Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the number of people living in poverty rose from 31.6 million in 2000 to 36.5 million in 2006. The number of people living in households facing food insecurity rose from 31 million in 1999 to 35.5 million in 2006. More than 12 million of the people living in food insecure households were children (Labue, 2009). Food America (2017) reports:

According to the survey conducted by the U.S conference of Mayors, 67% of adults requesting emergency food aids are people with jobs. Recently, American food banks are experiencing a “torrent of need which they cannot meet”. In Maine, Ms Ehrenreich needed immediate food aid or cash assistance as she was new to the place and most of

The service site is composed of hundreds of people, from all over the state of Illinois, from different walks of life, looking to fulfill one mission; to help people. Not only are we composed of a diverse group of people, but we serve a diverse group of people. There is diversity in every aspect from race, religion, socioeconomical and employment status. Hunger is not only experienced by people suffering homelessness. We serve more people who works part time and fulltime jobs more than homeless or elderly people. The diversity I was submerged in forced me to question the factors of hunger, of course. The many reasons we discussed in class, such as food deserts and low working wages, are high weighing factors for people experiencing hunger in this and surround communities. Learning and acknowledging these facts allows for a decent plan of

Families that struggle to provide a meal for their family depend on food banks to get food for their family .The essay state “And some kids don’t get enough to eat, no matter what people want to tell themselves.”(Page-223) Many kids would be happy

Have you ever wondered where you would rest your head at night? Where you would find your next meal? How would support your family given unforeseen sudden circumstances? I’ve never thought about the importance of these questions until a recent experience I had volunteering at a food pantry. There are organizations whose main purpose is to help those in need and provide resources to members of the community who are going through difficult times. A food pantry is a non-profit community serviced organization that provides members of the community with groceries and resources. From volunteering at this food pantry I learned more than ever to never “judge a book, by its cover”, or in other words, even though I person may look well put together on the outside, you never know what it is they are dealing with on the inside. I’ve encountered homeless members of the community, people who have suffered from physical abuse, and people who have experienced unexpected disasters such as house fires to expected job layoffs while volunteering at a food pantry. I’ve also come to appreciate everything that I have in my life from the roof over my head to the food in my stomach and that some people are less fortunate than me.

Furthermore, you should not give poor donations for items sure as, junk food that can add to the problem. For example, sheet cakes, holiday cakes, sugary sodas and other processed bakery items. Our group is looking to purchase healthy food to give our community food bank, which includes, canned foods, pasta, veggie, dry cereals, potted meats, and nuts. Besides, U.S. has increase to forty-eight million of people going hungry by 2012, a five-fold jump since the late 1960's. Finding food has become a central worry for millions of Americans. According to National Geographic Magazine. This is not the solution for food poverty, but it removes the responsibility of the government to tackle hunger allowing them to not fix the gap between our income and the cost of nutritional food. Finally, the food banks are a charitable organization to distribute food to those who have difficulty purchasing food to avoid

In 2014, a foundation called Feeding America did a survey on the people they serve and found that in order to stretch their food budgets 79% of them purchase inexpensive and unhealthy food in order to stay fed. This can seriously impact their health, because no matter the age, healthy bodies and minds require nutritious meals. In some cases, food insecurity can even lead to Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and obesity. These are just a few examples of why food insecurity is so harmful. Fortunately, there are many organizations, clubs, and foundations that are committed to ending hunger in America, and eventually the world. The first step to solving this problem is spreading information, and realizing just how dangerous food insecurity is, and who it affects. After learning these things, you may want to help and there are many ways to do that. I’m sure in the past, you've donated food to the annual canned food drive our school puts on, and that’s just one way you can contribute to solving this problem. There are many organizations that ask for donations and will put your money to great use, for example every dollar you donate to Feeding America will provide 11 meals for a child in need.If you don’t have food or money to donate, you can donate