The Futility of Food Banks

Generosity of Donors and Volunteers Hasn't Addressed Underlying Problem -- Poverty

Transcript of Washington Post interview with Mark Winne, Former Director, Hartford Food System; Author, "Closing the Food Gap"

"America's far-flung network of emergency food programs - from Second Harvest to tens of thousands of neighborhood food pantries - constitutes one of the largest charitable institutions in the nation. Its vast base of volunteers and donors and its ever-expanding distribution infrastructure have made it a powerful force in shaping popular perceptions of domestic hunger and other forms of need. But in the end ... there is something in the food-banking culture and its relationship with donors that dampens the desire to empower the poor and take a more muscular, public stand against hunger."

Mark Winne, former director of the Hartford (Conn.) Food System and author of "Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty" was online Monday, Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss his Outlook article about how the food bank infrastructure prevents any serious efforts to truly solve poverty and food insecurity