"The food bank is more than just another food aid program - it is a significant step toward development-based solutions to the hunger problem in the country"

FORA.bg

Interview with Chris Rebstock taken for BELLA magazine

Mr. Rebstock, what is your experience in the food banking?

My first involvement in food banking was in 1980 as a volunteer in the newly created food bank in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the USA. I was working for a different NGO called Hunger Action Coalition, and volunteered at the food bank driving a truck to pick up food at grocery stores. I then became a member of the Board of Directors, and after a year left the Board to become the Executive Director. I managed the food bank for 5 years, increasing its distribution approximately 500% and acquiring a 14,000 square meter facility.

In 1987, I left the food bank to go to work for Feeding America (then known as Second Harvest) - the national food bank network in the USA. I worked in the Member Services Department, providing training and technical assistance, conducting compliance audits, and coordinating member services. In 1991, I became the Director of the Member Services Department, and added disaster response services to our department's program base. In 2001, I became Vice President of Network Support, and my responsibilities included compliance management, training and technical assistance, disaster response services, national program development and administration, and network data management.

In 2006 I left Feeding America with the retiring President and CEO to create The Global FoodBanking Network, where I am Vice President of Network Development. My current responsibilities include general member services, training and technical assistance, and management of food bank development projects in countries where we are working to create food banking systems.

What are the main characteristics of effectively functioning food banks around the world?

There are several:

    * Active engagement of all three sectors: government, private sector, civil society
    * Efficient operations and administration
    * Comprehensive partnerships - building partnerships with as broad a base of stakeholders as possible to generate the maximum amount of support for the food bank operations
    * Adaptive program infrastructure that is responsive to the unique needs of the particular community and country
    * Dynamic, entrepreneurial, creative, confident leadership capable of motivating the food bank's stakeholders to see and commit to the opportunities presented by their unusual coalition around the problem

Could you give us examples of well-organized food banks in the USA and Europe?

There are many. The common thread among them is that the leadership -- the board of directors and the managing director -- have been successful at helping the community-at-large to see the food bank as a community asset. A member of the City Council in San Antonio, Texas a couple years ago was addressing a training session hosted by The Global FoodBanking Network. He made the comment that he considered it his responsibility as a City Councilman to make sure that the City provided for its citizens all the basic services needed for a healthy and effective society. This includes a police department, a fire department, an education system, the food bank, an effective civil infrastructure, etc. The food bank in San Antonio is a private NGO -- it is NOT an arm of the city government. But this councilman considered it so much an asset to the city that he thinks of it in the same vein as other basic services like police, fire protection, etc. This is the best example of a fully integrated and broadly supported food bank I have seen.

What conditions would be needed in order to create a good model in Bulgaria?

There are several things that need to be developed or improved in Bulgaria in order to create a fully functioning food banking system:

    * It would be very helpful to pass legislation which limits the liability exposure of companies that make good-faith donations of food to the food bank. If a company donates product that is fit for human consumption at the time of the donation, the company should not be liable to civil action in the event someone claims to get sick from consuming that product. (Of course, if the company is guilty of fraud or gross negligence, it should not be immune to action.)
    * It would also be helpful if the tax situation could be analyzed and incentives could be created to encourage companies to donate surplus product that cannot or will not be sold in the commercial market.
    * An apparent area needing development in Bulgaria is the NGO sector - it seems that there is a lack of sufficient NGOs and community organizations operating feeding programs, meaning that the food bank will have to be creative in identifying efficient and trustworthy mechanisms for distribution of the product from its warehouse.
    • The philanthropic community (corporations and foundations), government at all levels, and the general public need to recognize the value that the food banking system brings to Bulgarian society. It is more than just another food aid program -- it is a significant step in the development of a sustainable, effective partnership between the Private Sector, the Public Sector, and Civil Society to deliver scalable and significant resources to those in need, while at the same time helping address business solutions for the food industry, environmental solutions for the waste management industry, and the coalition of creative thinkers to think beyond food aid and toward development-based solutions to the hunger problem in the country.