A survey of food bank operations in five Canadian cities
A survey of food bank operations in five Canadian cities
复制标题
对加拿大五个城市食品银行运作的调查
作者：
V. Tarasuk;Naomi Dachner;Anne;A. Ostry;Patricia L. Williams;Elietha Bosckei;B. Poland;K. Raine
背景食品银行的出现是为了应对许多富裕国家低收入群体日益严重的食品不安全问题，但它们管理这一问题的能力值得怀疑。在加拿大，由于缺乏公共方案和政策干预，粮食银行是为难以满足粮食需求的家庭提供紧急援助的唯一来源，但许多迹象表明，这种反应是不够的。本研究的目的是探讨促进和限制在加拿大五个城市的食物银行业务的因素，并评估这些举措的潜力，以满足食品needs.MethodsAn库存的慈善食品供应在哈利法克斯，魁北克市，多伦多，埃德蒙顿，和维多利亚，加拿大在2010年进行。在517个参与电话调查的机构中，有340个机构在经营食品杂货项目。进行了多变量回归分析，以确定程序的特点，服务量和应变在食品银行的能力，始终实现援助的标准，他们已经established.ResultsExtensive，完善的食品银行的活动绘制在每个城市之间的关联，从7,111在哈利法克斯到90,141在多伦多每个月的人数不等。72%的机构表示，客户需要的食物多于他们提供的食物。任何一个机构在一个月内提供服务的人数与来自捐赠的食物分配比例（β 0.0143，SE 0.0024，p 0.0041）和在该机构工作的志愿者人数（β 0.0630，SE 0.0159，p 0.0167）呈正相关。粮食银行只有通过限制客户准入来控制需求，才能实现供求平衡。当获得援助的限制较少时，粮食银行耗尽粮食和调用措施配给剩余的供应和限制访问的几率显着上升。ConclusionsDespite其广泛的历史，在加拿大的粮食银行仍然依赖于捐赠和志愿者，与现有的资源迅速耗尽，面对机构的努力，以更充分地满足客户的需求。粮食银行满足寻求援助者需求的能力有限。
BackgroundFood banks have emerged in response to growing food insecurity among low-income groups in many affluent nations, but their ability to manage this problem is questionable. In Canada, in the absence of public programs and policy interventions, food banks are the only source of immediate assistance for households struggling to meet food needs, but there are many indications that this response is insufficient. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that facilitate and limit food bank operations in five Canadian cities and appraise the potential of these initiatives to meet food needs.MethodsAn inventory of charitable food provisioning in Halifax, Quebec City, Toronto, Edmonton, and Victoria, Canada was conducted in 2010. Of the 517 agencies that participated in a telephone survey of their operations, 340 were running grocery programs. Multivariate regression analyses were conducted to determine the association between program characteristics, volume of service, and indicators of strain in food banks’ abilities to consistently achieve the standards of assistance they had established.ResultsExtensive, well-established food bank activities were charted in each city, with the numbers of people assisted ranging from 7,111 in Halifax to 90,141 in Toronto per month. Seventy-two percent of agencies indicated that clients needed more food than they provided. The number of people served by any one agency in the course of a month was positively associated with the proportion of food distributed that came from donations (beta 0.0143, SE 0.0024, p 0.0041) and the number of volunteers working in the agency (beta 0.0630, SE 0.0159, p 0.0167). Food banks only achieved equilibrium between supply and demand when they contained demand through restrictions on client access. When access to assistance was less restricted, the odds of food banks running out of food and invoking measures to ration remaining supplies and restrict access rose significantly.ConclusionsDespite their extensive history, food banks in Canada remain dependent on donations and volunteers, with available resources quickly exhausted in the face of agencies’ efforts to more fully meet clients’ needs. Food banks have limited capacity to respond to the needs of those who seek assistance.