Ginger Hallmark, Patricia Duffy, Joseph Molnar, Conner Bailey,
LaToya Claxton, and Steve Mikloucich

Food banks are a rather recent private, nonprofit response to the growing recognition that hunger is a real and relatively widespread problem in the United States. A recent AAES, Southern Rural Development Center study, reveals characteristics and needs of clients and eligible nonclients of the East Alabama Food Bank (EAFB). The study also examines why some people do not use food bank services.

The East Alabama Food Bank is part of the Second Harvest network of 188 regional food banks in the United States and Puerto Rico. Second Harvest distributes more than one billion pounds of donated frozen, fresh, and dry foods annually. The EAFB provides food to member agencies, such as churches and other organizations, for 14 cents per pound. The member agencies then distribute the food without charge to needy individuals and families. EAFB serves member agencies in Lee, Macon, Tallapoosa, Chambers, Randolph, and Russell counties.

Food banks are important to agricultural producers in a number of ways. Food banks organize gleaning programs that use volunteers to collect crops from farmer’s fields that might otherwise go to waste. Mechanical harvesting often leaves residual fruits or vegetables in the field, and at times it is not economical for farmers to fully harvest their crops. When crop markets falter or fail, food banks provide an outlet for perishable items that yields a tax benefit for producers on commodities that would otherwise be wasted or sold at a great loss.

AAES researchers selected a sample of six rural and six urban agencies of the East Alabama Food Bank known as “food pantries.” The urban agencies were defined as those operating in Lee County, with all agencies outside Lee County defined as rural. After conducting informal interviews with the 12 food pantry directors, a sample of 10 clients from each pantry location was selected to be interviewed in person. Ten eligible nonclients who lived near each site but who had never used a food pantry also were interviewed. The majority of these nonclients were interviewed at a housing project closest to the pantry site. A total of 96 food pantry clients and 120 nonclients were interviewed.

Ten of the 12 food pantries in the study were associated with a church or other religious organization. Results show most food pantries operate in a flexible manner. Among the 12 food pantries, diversity exists in the amount of food given, method of distribution, and record-keeping procedures, showing the private food system operates differently than the formal, bureaucratic Food Stamp Program.

The majority of respondents were females between 30 and 49 years of age, although the rural groups had a higher percentage of respondents over 60. Most of the users and nonusers were not working full-time jobs, and roughly one-third indicated they were disabled. Not surprisingly, most reported low household incomes and low education levels.

For those using food pantries, the majority received food only “every now and then” as needs arose. More than half of the respondents expected to still need the pantries’ services within three months of the interviews, and only 20% reported they did not expect to use the pantry again in the immediate future.

Overall, respondents reported a high level of satisfaction with the food received at the pantries, with rural users indicating slightly higher satisfaction levels (see the table). Of rural respondents, 90% were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of food, compared to 76% of urban clients. Almost all respondents reported that staff members treated them with respect “all of the time,” and only a very small percentage felt the director made them feel ashamed for accepting food.

Responses from Rural and Urban Clients and Nonclients of the East Alabama Food Bank, 1999 Clients Rural Urban    pct. pct. Satisfaction with food quality   Very satisfied 52 44   Satisfied 38 32   Somewhat satisfied 8 20   Dissatisfied 2 2   Very dissatisfied 0 2 When you come to the pantry are you treated with respect?   All of the time 94 96   Most of the time 4 4   Some of the time 2 0 Number (49) (47) Nonclients Rural Urban Why are you not receiving food from a food pantry?*   Did not know I could 100 100   Do not have transportation 2 3   Do not want to apply 2 3   Not worth the trouble 10 2   Embarrassed 0 0 Number (60) (60) *Respondents could select multiple reasons.

Possible barriers could include lack of knowledge of the program, lack of transportation, or stigma associated with using the program. The main barrier to use for those not using the food pantries appears to be lack of knowledge of the programs (see the table).

When asked to list reasons for not using a food pantry, 100% of nonclients reported they did not know they could receive food. Respondents could list multiple responses for this question, so several other reasons were given. However, only 2% of rural and 3% of urban nonclients indicated transportation as an obstacle to using the pantry. Likewise, stigma was not listed as a barrier, and 90% reported they would receive food from a food pantry if eligible. Thus, the most important barrier to food pantry use appears to be lack of knowledge of its availability.

In summary, food banks are playing an increasingly important role in meeting the food needs in the United States by channeling surplus food products to those in need. Food pantry users in East Alabama are primarily women with low incomes and low education levels. Most clients only use the program every now and then, but report high levels of satisfaction with the food and do not indicate stigma being attached to using the pantry. The nonusers indicate lack of knowledge as the main barrier keeping them from using the pantries.

Although the East Alabama Food Bank appears to be successfully meeting the needs of clients, food banks should not be viewed as a complete solution to the hunger problem. The information barrier keeping needy people from using the program may be difficult for churches and other nonprofit organizations to overcome. The food pantries are already stretching their budgets to provide food to clients, so advertising or further promoting of the program to include more users is not feasible at this time.

One solution is to encourage more churches and nonprofit organizations to participate in the food bank program. An increase in private donations is also an essential aspect of any effort to expand the array of food pantries to meet hunger needs of today and those of the next economic downturn.