A food drive is a form of

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

that is conducted by a group of individuals or a corporation to stockpile and distribute foodstuffs to people who cannot afford food.

Overview

Non-perishable food items collected during a holiday food drive

Food drives are operated in order to stock

food bank A food bank or food pantry is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distrib ...

s that distribute food to homeless people,

soup kitchen A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center is a place where food is offered to Hunger, hungry and homeless people, usually for no price, cost, or sometimes at a below-market price (such as coin Donation, donations). Frequently located in Low i ...

s, vulnerable seniors, orphanages, refugees, and victims of disasters. There are also food drives to help people hold feasts on Christmas and Thanksgiving. Many are organized by community organizations, nonprofits, churches, and even individuals.

Criticism

Many people involved in charity work are critical of the inefficiency of food drives. Emergency food providers are able to buy surplus stock from the food industry at a significant discount, Katherina Rosqueta of the

Center for High Impact Philanthropy The Center for High Impact Philanthropy (CHIP) is a center at the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States focused on high impact philanthropy, both in the US and internationally. The Center trans ...

estimating it at 5% of retail price. Instead of buying canned food at store prices and physically donating it, a monetary donation to the same value could be used to acquire a much greater amount of food, and of a variety chosen by the food charity. Greg Bloom of

Bread for the City Bread for the City is a comprehensive front line agency serving the poor of Washington, D.C., USA. The agency began as two organizations: Zacchaeus Free Clinic, and Bread for the City, a project by a coalition of downtown DC churches created in 1 ...

expressed concern over the health value of donated food, saying that "almost half of what comes to us in any given food drive just doesn’t meet our nutritional standards". Contemporary food drives often work towards a radical approach to food provisions and aid. Organizations like "

Food Not Bombs Food Not Bombs (FNB) is a loose-knit group of independent collectives, sharing free, usually vegan and vegetarian food with others. The group believes that corporate and government priorities are skewed to allow hunger to persist in the midst of ...

" pair vegan and vegetarian food provisions to those in need with a radical political agenda. The organization protests the military industrial complex, a phenomenon that fuels wars and usurps almost half of all tax money. According to the organization, the tax money utilized for war could fuel better social infrastructure to provide food aid to all who need a cushion of support.

Largest food drive

The largest food drive by a non-charitable organization in 24 hours was set by the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Food drive. It collected 559,885 pounds of food in Durham, North Carolina, USA, on March 5, 2011.

References

External links

Illustrative example of Food Drive Challenge, Delhi FoodBank

Food Drive FoodAThon by Delhi FoodBank, Aidmatrix Foundation, India
Philanthropy {{Food-stub

Overview

Criticism

Largest food drive

See also

References

External links