Food banks - the limits of food charity

Food banks represent charitable attempts to overcome the inability to acquire sufficient food due to inadequate incomes or resources such as savings. They have been expanding in most developed economies putting budgetary pressure on the charities that run food banks. As a result, those running food banks have to make hard choices regarding who is eligible to receive food, how much food they can receive, and the range of foods made available. They are also staffed by volunteers who may suffer from fatigue, so they require careful management and an ongoing search for new volunteers. Fundraising efforts are also challenging. While governments may supplement the budgets of food banks, they seldom run them directly, preferring them to remain in the charitable sphere.