Food Banks and Grocery Stores

[Natalka]

^ However, if it's Campbell's chunky soup, here the cheapest they ever are is $2 each.

[Arvilish]

My local COOP does the same thing except for $20!!! I think it is not fair to 'loot' people who are already having difficulty. For the food bank I have worked, we cannot appreciate much about people donating food instead of money, especially most wanted ones because thats what people want!

[GracieAnne]

Sometimes I look through my pantry, see something I thought I was going to use and never did. Or we're going to an event and they ask for food bank donations. I always have extra canned/dry goods to donate.

I'm not sure if any food bank executive is making $500K, but almost certainly over $100K.

Speaking of charities in general, I know the CEOs of Goodwill/Salavation Army make well over 500k a year.

[Arvilish]

Gee I would be happy with $30,000 income since that is more than enough for me.

[Cake]

Not sure about Primo Chunky soup but Campbell's Chunky is on sale this week for 2/$5.

[BCcheapMom]

Not sure about Primo Chunky soup but Campbell's Chunky is on sale this week for 2/$5.

At SDM they are often $1.99, combine with points offers like '2000 points when you do end $5' it ends up working out to me spending a net of $1 for 2 chunky cans and 2 small cans of soup.

[BCcheapMom]

Cash definitely goes farther at a food bank per their spending power- I work with our campus foodbank and no one gets a salary so that is a non - issue, what is an issue for me is my lack of funds so I donate all the personal hygiene stuff, cereal, pasta, granola bars that I can consistently get for free - every week like clockwork we couponers have the opportunity to get things for free and I will always take freebies and pass them on as:

even though I don't want/need it someone else does

even though I don't/want need it the purchase may be a moneymaker to pay to other groceries, or earn me points at Shoppers, Airmiles, PCplus, Save on Foods - which helps stretch MY budget and feed my family

in the end I take 4-5 big bags of food and sundries every 2-3 weeks to the food bank - things that cost me nothing but time but make a big difference to others

[Cake]

At SDM they are often $1.99, combine with points offers like '2000 points when you do end $5' it ends up working out to me spending a net of $1 for 2 chunky cans and 2 small cans of soup.

Good on you. And I'm sure you can do that every week.

Point I'm trying to make is that the prepaid parcels are not a total ripoff and if someone buys as an impulse they should not feel bad.

[roxybabe39]

Thanks for the post! It's definitely something to think about! While I've personally never bought a pre made bag and I do not give cash (personal preference) I always donate to the food bank and many other charities. I always try and think outside the box and give items they don't normally get but need: feminine products, dog/cat food and treats, and baby items are what I tend to give more than anything

[Ciel]

I read last week that the separate school boards in Ontario already teach about poverty in their school curriculum and the public school boards are having discussion about which grade will get that same information.

The thing is, schools/school groups are usually fundraising for various food drives/school equipment/trips/other students in need. What I don't see as much of is change in how resources for students in need can be accessed (always through teacher/resource coordinator who has to be made aware of need) and what times those resources can be accessed (community non-profits tend to keep daytime hours). In Hamilton, food banks have begun to rotate evening hours around different locations to allow clients one evening per month to access their food bank (because some jobs or commitments during the day don't allow dropping them to access a food bank during a morning or afternoon). I also don't see too much public discussion about the limits of some families to keep responding to all the monetary and donation requests through schools, let alone through community groups. Toronto Life has published two articles in the past couple of years of Toronto schools that are "haves" in terms of fundraising dollars raised and "have-not" schools that don't get much fundraising money due to families that are struggling to get their living needs covered, let alone worry about what school supplies might need to be bought.

I remember when there was a hullaboo about three years about the United Way top earners in Ontario over their salary and perks in the Toronto area. There can be some reason to support a pay premium to compensate them for time spent in meetings because otherwise hours outside of regular hours cuts into free time. So there has to be an incentive to opt to apply outside hours to meeting sponsors at events or venues where they may be spending their free time. Should "charities and non-profits" be providing cars to staff? There needs to be some consideration of the optics about paying for a car lease or driver versus using public transit or taxis. Rural groups will rely on cars to get around.

[tjthemanto]

Speaking of charities in general, I know the CEOs of Goodwill/Salavation Army make well over 500k a year.

You can add United Way to that list.

it amazes me how much these top level executives loot a charity ..when most of the work and donations are done for FREE by lower level volunteers and members of the general public..who donate their time, energy, money, skills, expertise, items, food for Free.

I would be embarassed and would be sick to my stomach to get that kind of money from a charity. I understand not all can work for free and need to be compensated..but the amounts these guys earn are ridiculous !

year after year billions go in salaries and administrative costs of the various charities..and only a fraction actually manages to reach the actual victims !

same thing is happening with the NEPAL tragedy right now !

[dirtdog]

Our food bank does NOT have a contract with any of the local grocery stores.

[dirtdog]

Our food bank is TOTALLY staffed by volunteers. I know this because my wife and sister-in-law are both involved. We don't need food banks that are big business. We have enough of that.

[dirtdog]

You are right, but the point is for no more effort, they can do much better than buy the pre-packaged grocery store bags.

[Shwa Girl]

Speaking of charities in general, I know the CEOs of Goodwill/Salavation Army make well over 500k a year.

World Vision Canada leader is 194,000 (World Vision financial report, audited by KPMG)
Salvation Army as a religious organization does not fully report so an estimate is between between $79,389 and $243,248 (Forbes)
Goodwill CEO salary $376,000 (Huffington Post)

Please quote your source.