The slow economy has put pressure on food banks to serve more people with the same or fewer resources. Now, the level of EBT benefits has been cut, so people who often struggled to make it through the month now have less food. More of those people will run out of money and food before the end of the month, and will turn to their local food bank for help. Will there be enough food for all when the time comes? No, in many cases the shelves will be bare. How can food banks meet increasing demands for food? This question has two dimensions: the immediate need for more food and the long-term challenge of securing reliable access to more food from donors. One hopes the long-term need doesn’t materialize, but realism requires being prepared. The immediate need for additional food donations can be handled in several ways. If you run a food bank or just volunteer regularly, then you probably know what the options are: appealing to current donors, approaching new donors, using...
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