How the Food Bank Came to Be

Food banks are charitable organizations that hold donated food and distribute them to a selection of other agencies devoted to providing for the hungry, whether to food pantries or to soup kitchens or fellow food banks at a more local level. Donated food originates from a various sources, in most cases stores that happen to develop excess inventory such as farmers, producers, traders, and of course restaurants. The food is never poisonous to feed on, but may be only slightly past its "best-by" date or even really just approaching it. Oftentimes the food itself is actually edible, but its packaging may be damaged to the level where customers avoid it nonetheless.

To be sure, it was just such a case, back in Arizona in 1965, that contributed to the invention of the food bank. John van Hengel was a volunteer at a community canteen who saw eventually that local grocers were dumping food day after day for no more than those finicky consumer preferences. He arranged for the delivery of such goods for his outfit but soon an attainable objective that there was much, much more stock than can be consumed. That's how the idea of a food bank began; operating on the same basis as a blood bank, van Hengel's food bank was a central clearinghouse that functioned as the regional collection and distribution point for all interested parties.

Since that time, food banks have been founded all over the world. Along with donated food, they by and large count on the monetary assistance of rich backers, distinguished personalities from the worlds of business, politics, and entertainment. For example, in Gotham, concerned citizens got together to found City Harvest in 1982, which has garnered the financial aid of local luminaries including real estate developer Isaac Toussie and television weatherman Al Roker.


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Author Paul Wise regularly follows sites that feature experts such as Isaac Toussie and others.