Our 2020 Donations Program has been an incredibly fulfilling achievement for the entire BairesDev team. We started this program to periodically donate part of our revenue to nonprofit organizations that empower people and build spaces where talent can shine. So far, BairesDev has made close to 100 donations on behalf of our clients to almost 20 NPOs that are helping people thrive around the world. Feeding America rose up as one of the most supported organizations this year.
Feeding America is the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the US. Their network covers over 200 food banks, as well as 60,000 meal programs like school-based food pantries, emergency disaster relief, and Kids’ Cafe. For more than 40 years, Feeding America has responded to the needs of individuals struggling with food insecurity, building a path to a brighter, food-secure future.
How Feeding America Supports Talent
Feeding America understands hunger as a complex issue that prevents people from meeting other basic needs with ease. They understand that hunger often leads to housing, education, employment, and healthcare limitations that prevent both children and adults from prospering. That’s why Feeding America is committed to more than providing food for people in need.
Food banks in the Feeding America network are not just distributors. They anticipate and adjust to the needs of the communities they serve. While providing access to food for children, seniors, and families is priority number one, Food Banks also offer:
- Community-specific programs that respond to the changing needs of the people they serve
- Programs that help families manage the relationship between food and wellness
- Programs that help families and households identify food-related ways to keep children healthy
- Ways to help families and households create and follow a food budget or find government programs
Some of their most impactful programs include:
Disaster Food Assistance
When disaster strikes, the Feeding America network of food banks kicks into high gear, providing emergency food and disaster-relief supplies to families and households virtually anywhere in America. Over a recent five-year period, Feeding America has distributed over 100 million pounds of emergency food and supplies to communities and households in the days and weeks following a disaster.
School Pantry Programs
School Pantry Programs help alleviate child hunger in America by distributing food to children and their families. School Food Pantries provide a more readily accessible source of food assistance to low-income students and their families. By working with community partners, food banks and school administrators are able to set up on-site food pantries, which are convenient for students and their families to access throughout the school year and during school breaks. This way, students and their families have easier access to food assistance and feel more comfortable in accessing this assistance.
The School Pantry Program generally distributes fresh fruit and vegetables, easy to open shelf-stable items, a combination of grains, and sometimes protein items such as frozen meats. School Pantries also work in conjunction with other children-focused programs such as Summer Meal Programs, the BackPack Program, and the Kids Cafe.
Mobile Pantry Program
The Mobile Pantry Program directly serves people in areas of high need in an effort to supplement the work of other local hunger-relief agencies. Through the Mobile Pantry, a truckload of food is distributed to clients in pre-packed boxes or through a farmers market-style distribution where people can choose to take what they need.
This program expands the capacity of the Feeding America network to underserved communities where people with limited financial resources may not be able to access food through traditional grocery stores or food pantries. As a result, food banks can provide rescued food and grocery products (including meat, produce, and baked goods) to people more quickly and flexibly.
Advocating for a Hunger-Free Future
To achieve a hunger-free future, we all need to support the in-depth understanding of structural and systemic inequities that disproportionately impact marginalized communities. No one should be forced to make tough choices between buying food and affording basic services like education or medical assistance. Beyond harming an individual’s future, it harms us all as a society.
Find out how to donate or volunteer for Feeding America at https://www.feedingamerica.org/take-action
