The Foodbank, Regional Leader in Local Support

November 10, 2012

The Foodbank, Inc. is a regional food support program that provides assistance to residents of Montgomery, Greene, and Preble counties located in southwestern Ohio. There are nearly one hundred local member programs that rely on The Foodbank for a continuing supply of nutritious food. The Foodbank provides much needed nutrition through generous donations of time and money, and continuing support from government grants and local tax levies. The challenges presented to The Foodbank are heightened by the economic profile of the counties it serves. According to the United States Census Bureau, 13.8% of the United States population lives beneath the poverty level, while 14.4% the combined population of Montgomery, Greene, and Preble counties lives beneath the poverty level (United States Census Bureau, 2012). The people served by The Foodbank are largely in poverty, with 83% of those served in 2011 falling below the poverty level with an average monthly income of $760.00 (The Foodbank, Inc., 2012). A hunger study performed by The Foodbank between February and June of 2007 found the following:
The Foodbank provides emergency food for an estimated 70,000 different people annually. 40% of the members of households served by The Foodbank are children under 18 years old. 23% of households include at least one employed adult. 79% have incomes below the federal poverty level. (The Foodbank, Inc., 2012) The needs of the children in the families that are supplied with assistance by The Foodbank are even more important to meet due to the impact on developing brains when faced with malnutrition. Research commissioned by Feeding America and the ConAgra Foods Foundation found that children that were malnourished tended to have a slower learning pace that caused them to lag behind fellow students in their studies (Cook & Jeng, 2009, p. 24). The need to maintain a proper nutrition for these developing children is becoming more important to the communities served by The Foodbank due to the rising food hardship rate in the local region as seen in figure 1:

Figure 1. Rate of hardship for several Ohio cities, and their rank nationally. Dayton serves as the major city in Montgomery County, which represents roughly 72% of the communities served by The Foodbank. State Food Hardship, retrieved from The Foodbank, Inc. website: http://www.thefoodbankdayton.org/nearly_one_in_five_ohioans_experienced_food_hardship_in_2011.php

The Foodbank provides food assistance to the surrounding communities in various ways. The Foodbank, through the help of volunteers, creates food packages to be distributed to local pantries after their quality has been assured. The Foodbank acquires goods from local businesses, large and small, that are processes daily. The Foodbank appropriates money from various federal, state, and local governments to be used in its efforts. With the help of the local newspaper, The Foodbank is able to purchase a large supply of nutrient dense foods at wholesale levels. All of these efforts lead to The Foodbank being able to supply nearly 80% of the food needed by the local programs that it helps to support (The Foodbank, Inc., 4/26/10). The local programs and organizations then use this food supply to provide sustenance to their local communities. There are many available avenues that can be used to provide assistance to The Foodbank. They provide easy to navigate online resources available at their website (http://www.thefoodbankdayton.org/how_to_help.php) that allow you to easily sign up to help by doing things such as organizing a canned food drive, or donating funds directly to The Foodbank. They also allow you to utilize their website to sign up as a volunteer through the local program that you wish to support. Information concerning The Foodbank’s recent activities and accomplishments is constantly updates through it’s convenient newsletter, “Feedwire”:

Figure 2. The Foodbank’s newsletter “Feedwire” contains easy to read updates on activities involving the community. Illustration adapted from Feedwire, by The Foodbank, Inc., Fall 2012, retrieved from http://www.thefoodbankdayton.org/files/feedwire_fall_2012.pdf

Regional food banks such as The Foodbank have proven to be a leader in supplying communities with a means to acquire foods rich in nutrients that are very important to the growth of young people in poverty-stricken families. The Foodbank continues to perform studies and utilize nutritional data supplied by the government to assure that the food it is providing is beneficial to the families that rely on it. Through strong relationships with local retailers, local news agencies, and of course the local volunteers it will continue to be a leader in helping local food relief programs maintain the level of donations needed in the communities of south western Ohio.

References
Cook, J., & Jeng, K. (2009) Child Food Insecurity: The Economic Impact on our Nation.
Retrieved from Feeding America website: http://feedingamerica.org/our-network/the-studies/~/media/Files/research/child-insecurity-economic-impact.ashx?.pdf
State & County QuickFacts (2012). Retrieved from United States Census Bureau website: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html
State Food Hardship [Chart]. (2012) Retrieved from The Foodbank, Inc. website: http://www.thefoodbankdayton.org/nearly_one_in_five_ohioans_experienced_food_hardship_in_2011.php The Foodbank, Inc. (2012). Advocacy. Retrieved from The Foodbank, Inc. website: http://www.thefoodbankdayton.org/advocacy.php
The Foodbank, Inc. (2012). Hunger Study/Local Stats. Retrieved from The Foodbank, Inc. website: http://www.thefoodbankdayton.org/hunger_study_local_stats.php
The Foodbank, Inc. (4/26/10). The Foodbank: Leading the Charge to Relieve Hunger for our

Miami Valley Neighbors. Retrieved from The Foodbank.Inc. website: http://www.thefoodbankdayton.org/images/pdf/backgrounder030308.pdf The Foodbank, Inc. (Fall 2012). Feedwire . Retrieved from
http://www.thefoodbankdayton.org/files/feedwire_fall_2012.pdf