Food for change

New strategies can address nagging problems, such as food insecurity.

In this age of limited resources, that warm and fuzzy feeling should no longer be your sole guide for giving. Policymakers in Washington and at the state and local level need to take the lead in reducing poverty. But philanthropy can and should become a larger part of the solution by shifting its focus to the transformation of systems and by adopting better ways to determine programs’ effectiveness.

The Houston Food Bank already has stepped up to meet this challenge through an innovative program, Food for Change. The nation’s largest food bank by some measures passed a startling milestone five years ago: The nonprofit distributed $100 million worth of food in a single year.

Using its asset — food — the Houston Food Bank has begun a collaboration, likely the first of its kind in the nation, with three local community college systems. The community college systems will offer food scholarships of 120 pounds of healthy food to foodinsecure students each month. Starting in January, the community colleges will measure the impact of food donations on the lives of the recipients.

The community college partners are to set the criteria, but basically, students who receive the food scholarships must stay enrolled. The scholarships are not intended to supply all food needed on a monthly basis but a significant part. Researchers will track whether food scholarships help students stay in school and increase graduation rates.

People who experience setbacks such as emergency health problems and temporary unemployment will always need the food bank or a similar resource as a bridge to better times. But by promoting education, the food bank’s goal is to help permanently lift some out of the ranks of the food insecure.

Not content to stop with community college systems, the food bank is actively seeking partnerships with other organizations that could distribute food to families who live with food insecurity. These organizations must be in a position to measure the impact of food donations on the lives of the recipients. Clinics, schools and community centers that meet the food bank’s criteria should consider joining with the food bank to try to better serve their communities.

Current problems “can’t be solved by your grandfather’s philanthropy,” Judith Rodin, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, told the New York Times recently.

We agree. The food bank’s approach is a smart and nimble way to invest community resources.