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My interest was piqued when I came across the headline: “Inflation is Straining the Charitable Sector.” In the article, Patrice Onwuka, director of the Center for Economic Opportunity at the Independent Women’s Forum, brought to light the impact of economic inflation on American households, and in turn, its impact on the charitable food space: inflation is affecting the charitable sector.
A network of food banks in Southeast Ohio reports that demand is up by 60% since the start of the year. Feeding South Dakota has been assisting 2.5 times the number of households they usually serve. Philadelphia’s largest hunger relief organization, Philabundance, is distributing more food than ever. The list goes on.
While demand for food surges, so do food prices, increasing by 10.4% in the 12-month period ending in June 2022. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this rise represents the largest 12-month increase since February 1981. While higher food costs have the greatest impact on low-income households spending a greater part of their budgets on groceries, people across all socio-economic groups are affected.
A survey conducted in July by Feeding America found that 65% of their member food banks experienced higher demand for emergency food assistance in June compared to the previous month. Aramil Wheeler, the marketing and communications coordinator for a food bank in Nevada, attributes this growing demand to an increase in middle-class families relying on charitable services.
But food banks, like those they serve, are affected by increased costs. Faced with growing demand and higher prices, the Alameda County Food Bank reports spending $1.5 million per month on food this summer, up from $250,000 per month prior to the pandemic. Soaring gas prices pose an additional challenge for food banks working to transport food to those in need. Michael Altfest, the Director of Community Engagement and Marketing at the Alameda County Food Bank, told CBS that their teams have increased the gas budget for the upcoming year by 66% – an amount that could purchase 100,000 meals of food.
Volunteers and staff at food banks are working extra to help those in need, but the impact of their efforts is limited by external factors. For one, individual giving is on the decline, and the uncertainty presented by inflation threatens to bring rates down further as people prioritize saving over spending. As prices also continue to rise, the value of each dollar donated falls, reducing the power (but not the importance) of financial giving.
Farmlink recognizes the growing strain facing the charitable food space; we will continue to support food banks experiencing greater demand on top of rising costs of operation. What does that support look like?
Our Deals Team connects food banks to farms with surplus food, enabling charitable food distributors to save money on the food needed to meet demand. Financial support offsets the cost of transportation, helping organizations affected by expensive fuel prices. Our Policy Team is working to understand the implications of the recently-passed Inflation Reduction Act in order to enhance our responses, and whenever possible, Farmlink offers on-the-ground support.
Inflation creates complex obstacles for many facets of our economy. As charitable organizations step up to meet these challenges, so too will Farmlink step up to help these selfless providers in any capacity needed.
These changes are great. But how’s it all going to be funded?
During the comment process, Farmlink, as well as other food rescue organizations and coalitions, raised critical questions about how the strategy would be funded and, as a result, which measures are feasible. In particular, we hoped for more clarity beyond the draft’s statement that the USDA would use American Rescue Plan Act and Inflation Reduction Act funds and the EPA would use Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds. Of the 86 programs or initiatives reviewed in the final strategy, only 15 are completely new programs announced in the strategy.
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The other 71 are existing programs or initiatives that either already have a food loss and waste focus or that the national strategy has repackaged as food loss and waste solutions. While we had hopes of new, innovative programs being included in the strategy, the good news with these 71 programs is that most, if not all, are already funded, meaning that they are not reliant on an increasingly turbulent Congress for implementation. Of the 15 new programs, which included the EPA’s new consumer education campaign and several new cooperative agreements with land-grant universities, only 2 had specific funding mechanisms. It has become increasingly clear that food rescue organizations and other stakeholders in the food and agriculture space should not consider this strategy as a new rollout of FLW solutions, programs, and funding but rather as an evaluation of the current resources and solutions and how each can be most effectively utilized to achieve the strategy’s goals. In particular, the framing of many of USDA’s programs as FLW solutions offers opportunities to utilize existing funding, data, and infrastructure to solve one of the United States’s most pressing problems.
Whats next?
Now that we have the strategy, it’s time to truly take advantage of the opportunities it presents. In the immediate future at Farmlink, we’re excited to continue optimizing Section 32 as a critical on-farm food loss solution as we anticipate significant surplus recoveries in the fall. As we move forward, we continue to advocate for dignity with food distribution, emphasizing cultural appropriateness and quality in every pound of food we rescue. As outlined in our comments, food rescue organizations are critical stakeholders and thought partners for the agencies. Our inclusion in the strategy as such is an opportunity we are taking full advantage of to help guide federal action to support farmers, feed communities, and heal the planet.
< BackMy interest was piqued when I came across the headline: “Inflation is Straining the Charitable Sector.” In the article, Patrice Onwuka, director of the Center for Economic Opportunity at the Independent Women’s Forum, brought to light the impact of economic inflation on American households, and in turn, its impact on the charitable food space: inflation is affecting the charitable sector.
A network of food banks in Southeast Ohio reports that demand is up by 60% since the start of the year. Feeding South Dakota has been assisting 2.5 times the number of households they usually serve. Philadelphia’s largest hunger relief organization, Philabundance, is distributing more food than ever. The list goes on.
While demand for food surges, so do food prices, increasing by 10.4% in the 12-month period ending in June 2022. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this rise represents the largest 12-month increase since February 1981. While higher food costs have the greatest impact on low-income households spending a greater part of their budgets on groceries, people across all socio-economic groups are affected.
A survey conducted in July by Feeding America found that 65% of their member food banks experienced higher demand for emergency food assistance in June compared to the previous month. Aramil Wheeler, the marketing and communications coordinator for a food bank in Nevada, attributes this growing demand to an increase in middle-class families relying on charitable services.
But food banks, like those they serve, are affected by increased costs. Faced with growing demand and higher prices, the Alameda County Food Bank reports spending $1.5 million per month on food this summer, up from $250,000 per month prior to the pandemic. Soaring gas prices pose an additional challenge for food banks working to transport food to those in need. Michael Altfest, the Director of Community Engagement and Marketing at the Alameda County Food Bank, told CBS that their teams have increased the gas budget for the upcoming year by 66% – an amount that could purchase 100,000 meals of food.
Volunteers and staff at food banks are working extra to help those in need, but the impact of their efforts is limited by external factors. For one, individual giving is on the decline, and the uncertainty presented by inflation threatens to bring rates down further as people prioritize saving over spending. As prices also continue to rise, the value of each dollar donated falls, reducing the power (but not the importance) of financial giving.
Farmlink recognizes the growing strain facing the charitable food space; we will continue to support food banks experiencing greater demand on top of rising costs of operation. What does that support look like?
Our Deals Team connects food banks to farms with surplus food, enabling charitable food distributors to save money on the food needed to meet demand. Financial support offsets the cost of transportation, helping organizations affected by expensive fuel prices. Our Policy Team is working to understand the implications of the recently-passed Inflation Reduction Act in order to enhance our responses, and whenever possible, Farmlink offers on-the-ground support.
Inflation creates complex obstacles for many facets of our economy. As charitable organizations step up to meet these challenges, so too will Farmlink step up to help these selfless providers in any capacity needed.
Inflation, Food Insecurity, and the Charitable Food Space
My interest was piqued when I came across the headline: “Inflation is Straining the Charitable Sector.” In the article, Patrice Onwuka, director of the Center for Economic Opportunity at the Independent Women’s Forum, brought to light the impact of economic inflation on American households, and in turn, its impact on the charitable food space: inflation is affecting the charitable sector.
A network of food banks in Southeast Ohio reports that demand is up by 60% since the start of the year. Feeding South Dakota has been assisting 2.5 times the number of households they usually serve. Philadelphia’s largest hunger relief organization, Philabundance, is distributing more food than ever. The list goes on.
While demand for food surges, so do food prices, increasing by 10.4% in the 12-month period ending in June 2022. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this rise represents the largest 12-month increase since February 1981. While higher food costs have the greatest impact on low-income households spending a greater part of their budgets on groceries, people across all socio-economic groups are affected.
A survey conducted in July by Feeding America found that 65% of their member food banks experienced higher demand for emergency food assistance in June compared to the previous month. Aramil Wheeler, the marketing and communications coordinator for a food bank in Nevada, attributes this growing demand to an increase in middle-class families relying on charitable services.
But food banks, like those they serve, are affected by increased costs. Faced with growing demand and higher prices, the Alameda County Food Bank reports spending $1.5 million per month on food this summer, up from $250,000 per month prior to the pandemic. Soaring gas prices pose an additional challenge for food banks working to transport food to those in need. Michael Altfest, the Director of Community Engagement and Marketing at the Alameda County Food Bank, told CBS that their teams have increased the gas budget for the upcoming year by 66% – an amount that could purchase 100,000 meals of food.
Volunteers and staff at food banks are working extra to help those in need, but the impact of their efforts is limited by external factors. For one, individual giving is on the decline, and the uncertainty presented by inflation threatens to bring rates down further as people prioritize saving over spending. As prices also continue to rise, the value of each dollar donated falls, reducing the power (but not the importance) of financial giving.
Farmlink recognizes the growing strain facing the charitable food space; we will continue to support food banks experiencing greater demand on top of rising costs of operation. What does that support look like?
Our Deals Team connects food banks to farms with surplus food, enabling charitable food distributors to save money on the food needed to meet demand. Financial support offsets the cost of transportation, helping organizations affected by expensive fuel prices. Our Policy Team is working to understand the implications of the recently-passed Inflation Reduction Act in order to enhance our responses, and whenever possible, Farmlink offers on-the-ground support.
Inflation creates complex obstacles for many facets of our economy. As charitable organizations step up to meet these challenges, so too will Farmlink step up to help these selfless providers in any capacity needed.
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