Policy Monographs
Expanding the Food Bank
- Author
Jeong Gee Hye
- Publication Date
2011
- Pages
- Series No.
- Language
Expanding the Food Bank
Food Bank was first introduced in Korea in 1998 after the foreign exchange crisis. It first started in four cities as a pilot project and has grown to be a part of a social welfare delivery system, helping the low income class with their basic food needs. As of January 2011, it has 407 offices scattered around the country. Food donations to the bank have continued to increase, reaching 71.3 billion won as of June 2010, an outstanding growth from 2.7 billion won in 1998 when it first started. In 2010, on average on a daily basis, 230,000 people used the food bank and the food market, increased from 95,000 people in 2006.
In the late 2008, in response to the increasing number of people who could not afford daily need of food and to the wreck of the economic crisis depriving the poor of basic safety measures, the government expanded the food bank infrastructure for those vulnerable members of society, particularly single elderly households, establishing a good number of food markets and food donation boxes (350 boxes in total) along with logistics centers to support the work of the food bank and food market.
Like the US and Canada in which there is a law that promotes food donations, Korea has also promulgated “laws on the promotion of food donations” in 2008, which has since contributed a lot to the growth of food donations by providing the legal groundwork.
In expanding the food bank, two approaches need to be taken, one being to expand the work of the food bank, the other being to strengthen the management of the food bank. Expanding the food bank naturally translates into an increase in the number of donors and users, and this urgently requires simplification of the donating procedures.
This study aims at developing ways to expand the food bank in an efficient manner based on the analyses on the current operations and problems of the food bank out of the need to expand the food bank in response to the internal as well as external environmental changes such as an economic crisis and increasing numbers of vulnerable households. It analyses the operational efficiency of the food bank Korea and governments’ support to the work of the food bank, and also explores ways to enhance and expand the infrastructure. It also surveys donors on any difficulties or inconveniences in donating and on their philosophy. The study also explores any possible tax benefits for potential and current donors to provide incentives, ways to improve food safety, and suggests a general development plan for the food bank.