Obsidian Potency 3.0
Why Food Donations Fail.
posted Tuesday, 20 November 2007
The Post had an interesting editorial on the front page today that posited what for many Americans is an unthinkable notion: that donating food to charity and handing it out to the needy is a useless endeavor.
I know what you're thinking: what the hell do you mean? How could you say that? Really, it's simple: donating food ultimately does not address the root cause of poverty. It's a band-aid to people that need -- and deserve -- a lot more than to be handed food at holidays. The author of this piece describes his life as part of the billion-dollar industry of charitable food giving, and expounds upon the simple fact that every year, the food lines get longer no matter how much food is given away.
Why? Because handing out food doesn't give people the means to secure it themselves. Rather, it creates a cycle of giving and dependence that only grows. It also creates an unhealthy relationship with donors, who think they've done their good deed for the day and get to pat themselves on the back for spending time giving away food that moneyed people wouldn't buy.
Meanwhile, the food and restaurant industries use food donation programs as their dumping grounds for so-called "charitable donations." These corporate entities get to pretend they are doing good and receive tax breaks; in the meantime, half the food they donate gets thrown in the trash because it's unfit for human consumption.
As the author puts it, "I often wondered what would happen if the collective energy that went into soliciting and distributing food were put into ending hunger and poverty instead."
Food for thought, indeed.
The rock group Living Colour probably said it best in their song "Go Away":
"I see the starving Africans on TV
I feel it has nothing to do with me
I gave my 20 dollars to Live Aid
And paid my guilty conscience now go away."
This Thanksgiving season -- and all year round -- there are millions of Americans who would do well to pay closer attention to the real impact of the expenditure of charitable time and money.
I know what you're thinking: what the hell do you mean? How could you say that? Really, it's simple: donating food ultimately does not address the root cause of poverty. It's a band-aid to people that need -- and deserve -- a lot more than to be handed food at holidays. The author of this piece describes his life as part of the billion-dollar industry of charitable food giving, and expounds upon the simple fact that every year, the food lines get longer no matter how much food is given away.
Why? Because handing out food doesn't give people the means to secure it themselves. Rather, it creates a cycle of giving and dependence that only grows. It also creates an unhealthy relationship with donors, who think they've done their good deed for the day and get to pat themselves on the back for spending time giving away food that moneyed people wouldn't buy.
Meanwhile, the food and restaurant industries use food donation programs as their dumping grounds for so-called "charitable donations." These corporate entities get to pretend they are doing good and receive tax breaks; in the meantime, half the food they donate gets thrown in the trash because it's unfit for human consumption.
As the author puts it, "I often wondered what would happen if the collective energy that went into soliciting and distributing food were put into ending hunger and poverty instead."
Food for thought, indeed.
The rock group Living Colour probably said it best in their song "Go Away":
"I see the starving Africans on TV
I feel it has nothing to do with me
I gave my 20 dollars to Live Aid
And paid my guilty conscience now go away."
This Thanksgiving season -- and all year round -- there are millions of Americans who would do well to pay closer attention to the real impact of the expenditure of charitable time and money.
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