Charitable Food Systems’ Capacity to Address Food Insecurity: An Australian Capital City Audit

Christina M. Pollard, Bruce Mackintosh, Cathy Campbell, Deborah Kerr, Andrea Begley, Jonine Jancey, Martin Caraher, Joel Berg and Sue Booth
Additional contact information
Christina M. Pollard: Faculty of Health Science, School of Public Health, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth 6845, Australia
Bruce Mackintosh: School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth 6009, Australia
Cathy Campbell: Faculty of Health Science, School of Public Health, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth 6845, Australia
Deborah Kerr: Faculty of Health Science, School of Public Health, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth 6845, Australia
Andrea Begley: Faculty of Health Science, School of Public Health, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth 6845, Australia
Jonine Jancey: Faculty of Health Science, School of Public Health, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth 6845, Australia
Martin Caraher: Centre for Food Policy, City University of London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK
Joel Berg: Hunger Free America, 50 Broad Street, Suite 1103, New York 10004, NY, USA
Sue Booth: College of Medicine & Public Health, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5000, Australia

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-17

Abstract: Australian efforts to address food insecurity are delivered by a charitable food system (CFS) which fails to meet demand. The scope and nature of the CFS is unknown. This study audits the organisational capacity of the CFS within the 10.9 square kilometres of inner-city Perth, Western Australia. A desktop analysis of services and 12 face-to-face interviews with representatives from CFS organisations was conducted. All CFS organisations were not-for–profit and guided by humanitarian or faith-based values. The CFS comprised three indirect services (IS) sourcing, banking and/or distributing food to 15 direct services (DS) providing food to recipients. DS offered 30 different food services at 34 locations feeding over 5670 people/week via 16 models including mobile and seated meals, food parcels, supermarket vouchers, and food pantries. Volunteer to paid staff ratios were 33:1 (DS) and 19:1 (IS). System-wide, food was mainly donated and most funding was philanthropic. Only three organisations received government funds. No organisation had a nutrition policy. The organisational capacity of the CFS was precarious due to unreliable, insufficient and inappropriate financial, human and food resources and structures. System-wide reforms are needed to ensure adequate and appropriate food relief for Australians experiencing food insecurity.

Keywords: food insecurity; charitable food services; food charity; food system; nutrition; voluntary failure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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