Nutritional Quality and Price of Food Hampers Distributed by a Campus Food Bank: A Canadian Experience.

Food insecurity is a mounting concern among Canadian post-secondary students. This study was conducted to evaluate the content of food hampers distributed by University of Alberta Campus Food Bank (CFB) and to assess the cost savings to students, using these hampers. Contents of hampers distributed among 1,857 students and their dependants since 2006 were evaluated against Canada’s Food Guide (CFG) recommendations and Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI). Hampers were aimed at serving university students and one to five members of their households located in Edmonton, Western Canada. One thousand eight hundred fifty-seven clients in Alberta, Canada, were included in the study. Although all hampers provided adequate energy, their fat and animal protein contents were low. Compared to the CFG recommendations, the requirements of milk and alternatives and meat and alternatives were not sufficiently met for clients using ≥3-person hampers. None of food hampers (i.e. one- to five-person hampers) met the DRI recommendations for vitamin A and zinc. Clients of CFB received Canadian dollar (CN$) 14.88 to 64.3 worth of non-perishable food items in one- to five-person hampers respectively. Hampers provided from the CFB need improvement. Nutrients missing from the food hampers could be provided from fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy, and meat products; however, these foods are more expensive than processed food items. The CFB provides a significant amount of savings to its clients even without considering the additional perishable donations that are provided to clients. Interpretation of our data required the assumption that all clients were consuming all of their hampers, which may not always be the case. Clients that do not fully consume their hampers may benefit less from the food bank.

Evaluation of the Perceived Performance on Sanitary Management of Cooked Foods in Foodbanks / 대한지역사회영양학회지

A survey was implemented to suggest basic data for assuring the safety of cooked foods in foodbank operations. A questionnaire consisted of total 48 items including general characteristics, basic inputs and perceived importance/performance of sanitary management. One hundred twenty-eight responses among the 267 nationwide foodbanks were used for the statistical analysis. About forty-one percent of foodbanks was operated a period of 1-3 years and 43.0% of them were managed by social welfare organizations. The number of staff was only 0.5 person per operation with the whole responsibility and 1.0 with additional work, and thus most of the work was managed by volunteers. Job satisfaction was shown to be moderate and was affected by specialty and salary mostly. The facilities and equipment in foodbanks were not enough to operate and freezers/refrigerators were the top priority to supplement. Most of the respondents attended a nationwide level sanitary education program (79.7%), but complained not enough frequency of education (90%). The sanitary status of the donated foods was considered as satisfactory but some safety practices had to be improved, including personnel expenses and operating costs in the district level, a sanitary awareness of the donors and a general management of the facilities and equipment. An assessment on sanitary management resulted in an overall average of 4.45 out of 5 points in importance and 3.85 in performance showing the high level of sanitation perception in foodbank managers. From the IPA analysis, the fields found to be improved were sanitation management during cooking and temperature control as well as cleanliness and sanitation of both transport vehicle and refrigerator/freezer. To secure the food safety in foodbanks, consequently, personnel support, supplement of facilities and equipment, intense sanitation education and development of sanitation management program is needed.

Analysis on the Donators' Characteristics of Government-dominant and Non-governmental Food Bank Programs / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The purpose of this study was to examine the donators' characteristics and donative foods of both government-dominant and non-governmental food bank program, to understand the problems and benefits of food bank program, and to find the solutions to activate food bank program. The questionnaires were distributed to 120 food bank operators and 3 donators were selected from each food bank for the survey from April 2002 to May 2002. 118 sheets (32.8%) from government-dominant food bank and 53 sheets (20.1%) from non-governmental food bank were collected. The main results of this study were as follows: The largest donators to either government-dominant or non-governmental food bank programs were bakery and confectionery companies 31.4% and 45.3% respectively. The majority of donated foods were "goods in stock" (55.6%) and frequency of donation were largely on a daily basis (27.1% for government-dominant and 22.6% for non-governmental). Some of the donators who had more donative food did not donate, and the reasons were closeness to expiration date of food (67.3%), lack of legal protection in the event of food poisoning (54.5%), and poor public image of food related accidents (52.3%).

Analysis on the Characteristics of Government-dominant and Non-governmental Food Bank Programs from the Operators' Perspective / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The objectives of this study were to: (a) examine the overall operating conditions of both government-dominant and non-governmental food bank programs, (b) understand the operational management attributes on the target based on IPA (importance performance analysis)(c) analyze the present status of donating management, and (d) suggest a direction based on the analysis of advantages and disadvantages of food banks in each part. The random samples of 120 food bank operators were selected by a proportionate stratified random sampling method. A total of 60 government-dominant food banks and 25 non-governmental food banks were analyzed. The main results of this study were as follows: According to the Importance-Performance Analysis of operational management, "assistance for operating funds" and "deployment of experience staff" were placed at "Focus Here". There was a great shortage of experienced staff with food bank-specific knowledge. The average number of the government-dominant and non-governmental food bank program employees was 0.29 and 0.30 respectively, while the ratios of employees with other jobs were 0.96 and 0.83 respectively. Shortages of refrigeration facilities were an area that needs to be addressed. While 51.6% of donated food required cold storage, only 45% of government-dominant and 60% of non-governmental food bank programs had refrigeration facilities. Most of food bank operators (96.3%) were required to visit the donators' locations to pick up the donated foods. And the foods were distributed to the people in need, especially to the livelihood protectee.

Analysis on the Characteristics of Government-dominant and Non-governmental Food Bank Programs from the Users' Perspective / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The objectives of this study were to (a) examine the users' characteristics of both government-dominant and non-governmental food bank programs, (b) understand the supporting quality of the food bank program, and (c) analyse the effectiveness of the programs from the users' perspectives. The random samples of 120 food bank operators were selected by proportionate stratified random sampling method and from each food bank, 3 users were selected for the survey. A total of 205 users were participated in this survey. The main results of this study were as follows; Average profile of food bank users were 58 year old, female, livelihood protectee (56.6%). Food assistance frequency were mostly once a week (34.1%), and everyday (22.4%). The survey also showed that non-governmental food banks delivered the food directly to the 42.7% of users, otherwise the users of government-dominant ones went to the food bank to receive the foods. Most of the donated foods were cooked food (50.0%), and the users also wanted to receive that kinds of food. Saving food expenses (55.6%) and overcoming hunger (16.6%) were found as the effectiveness to the users.