We are often asked, “what is the best way to donate to the food bank? We are all familiar with the donation collection points in supermarkets; we have the use of three in Co-Op, lidl and Waitrose. Their customers buy additional items with their weekly shop and donate them after the checkout.
Others, particularly businesses and annual donors prefer to give financial help using a bank transfer or card payment. Others prefer cheques or cash donations but, what is the best way to give?
Cash is king!
First, monetary donations are far more effective than material ones.
During a crisis, such as a flood, fire, or earthquake, human instinct is to donate blankets, canned food, or
toothbrushes.
Giving tangible items heightens the feel-good factor for most people.
However, when you’re trying to decide how best to help; it is always better to make monetary donations as opposed to making donations of goods, in our case food.
First, monetary donations are far more effective than material ones.
It is true that physically giving heightens the feel-good factor for many. However, when you’re trying to decide how best to help; it is always better to consider giving cash donations as opposed to making donations of goods.
That is true for a few reasons and one of those is a relatively new phenomenon.
Many local food-orientated charities have decided to use Neighbourly an award-winning giving platform that helps businesses make a positive impact in their communities by donating volunteer time, money and surplus products, all in one place.
In a small town like Okehampton, there is a cost.
Until recently we collected food from the supermarkets regularly throughout the week. Now we have been told we can only collect on a Monday, the least productive day of the week.
Other organisations that cater to 40 people a month also receive a day’s food donation.
Okehampton Food Bank fed 550 people in January and February 2023 and as a direct result of Neighbourly taking control of food donation allocation in the town our donated food has dropped by 90%.
We have been forced to increase spending on food when food inflation is running at 20%.
Taking food inflation, lost donations and increased numbers using our services, our weekly spending on food has jumped from £300 a week to £900 for the same period.
Neighbourly may be helping smaller charitable groups access local food donations but as a direct result of this, they are causing huge problems for the Food Bank.
The only way to ensure that your donation goes to the Okehampton Food Bank is by making a cash donation online or by BACS. You can also donate by using any of the PayPal donation buttons to be found on our site.
Secondly, financial donations are more flexible. The needs of people in crisis can change weekly, daily or even hourly. and cash donations allow food banks to respond to those needs more rapidly.
In a disaster relief campaign, such as an earthquake donors give blankets. But when everyone has a blanket, what use are another 500 blankets all the same size and colour?
For food banks, pasta porridge and baked beans are by far and above the most popular donated foods. But, when you have 600kg of pasta and 500 tins of baked beans already any further donations just take up valuable storage space.
Another reason cash is king is that donated food requires many volunteers to manage.
Before we can distribute any of our food donations they must be collected and delivered to the food bank. They then have to date checked, stored, and then packed ready for distribution. All this takes time.
The key for our community is to partner with the food bank. The food bank then has the capacity to manage those donations efficiently getting the best value for money.
We can distribute the donations to the people who need them when they are needed. In addition to filling a real need, it can raise awareness of that need in a community.