Food banks don’t own food security.

“Food banks don’t own food security,” is not a check on food banks, but a call to action for communities, because food security is a societal issue. People in any community in this country not knowing where their next meal is going to come from is a wicked social injustice. Addressing a challenge like that requires mobilization of much more than any one organization, or even one sector. 

When I have made the case for this statement to some food banks, I see a sigh of relief on their leaders’ faces. Like a weight has been lifted off their shoulders. To others, it is an inquisitive look of, “if not us, who?” That is a great question, and one that can be pretty quickly answered when we put out a call to community stakeholders to come alongside food banks in this work. 

Food banks have become massive organizations over the past 40 or 50 years, and have become leaders in communities across the country. They play many roles in addressing food security, but one they often don’t lean into is the role of convener. 

We are working with food banks across the country that have begun to grow and tap their networks of neighbors facing food insecurity, partner organizations, other social service organizations, funders, businesses, community leaders and more to ask how we can collectively address food insecurity in our communities. We have also had funders and city governments reach out to us and ask, “How can we plan as a community to address food insecurity together?”  If we are truly all neighbors, then we all own food security, and we all must work to ensure it is attainable for everyone. 

If you want to see an example of how a city worked with SWIM to understand food insecurity and begin to plan, check out the Alexandria Food Security Report. If you are interested in taking on a similar process around food security, or other social issues facing your community, schedule a discovery call today!