As a Move for Hunger advocate, I believe it is important to learn as much as possible about the non-profit sector we are supporting by immersing ourselves in the industry. What I mean is, the more you know, the more you are able to teach others. So what better way than to take a tour of a food bank?
I visited two, Forgotten Harvest (Oak Park, MI) and Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan (Detroit). By visiting multiple locations, I was able to better understand how food banks affect their communities.
The way I ended up touring two was somewhat organic. I have been working on a food drive for the past five weeks. In the beginning, I was not sure who I should have the food donated to, Forgotten Harvest or Gleaners. I soon discovered that Forgotten Harvest is a food rescue and Gleaners is a food bank.
What’s The Difference?
As it turns out, food rescues spend their time driving around picking up expired/unused food from different places, then they donate it directly to their satellite agents in the area. They try to avoid non-perishable goods – although they will accept them if delivered to the warehouse. Their focus is on fresh foods and preventing that food from becoming waste.
Food banks, on the other hand, distribute non-perishable goods to their agents either by delivering it with a truck or the agent comes to the warehouse and picks it up in the loading dock. They obtain a large portion of their stocked food from grocery stores who pull food from the shelves for marketing purposes or expiration date. They also benefit from the many food drives that people hold throughout the region.
Each of these places serves its own purpose to the people around them. Both locations were involved with farming – Gleaners community garden is located in the urban sprawl of Detroit, right in the backyard. Though they had similar purposes, they each had their own systems in place.
What Makes Each One Unique
Forgotten Harvest has teamed up with local small businesses by letting them use work space to prepare food products. Once the product is sold, Forgotten Harvest receives a percentage of the profits. They receive much more fresh food than Gleaners, so their cold storage facility space is larger than Gleaners.
Gleaners has an inventory and loading software which tells volunteers which foods to pull for each agent’s order. The best part about this system is that it gives the volunteers the list in the order of weight, so the heaviest food is always pulled first, under the lighter food. They also have a program that has children come in to stuff backpacks with food for other children in the community.
It was an illuminating experience to see where all the food goes once it is donated, and all the people working together to help those in need. I am sure I will be bringing my daughter to visit Gleaners one day to stuff a few backpacks.
Want to host a food drive to help your local food bank? We'd love to help!
