Challenges to Donating Baked Goods to Food Banks

Abstract

California is tackling the disparity between landfilled edible food and food insecurity. The state’s Senate Bill (SB) 1383 requires mandatory donation of edible food for certain large food companies including grocery stores and distributors. Food donors have faced barriers to donating while hunger relief organizations have experienced challenges to accept additional food donations under SB 1383. Food donation barrier theory has focused on challenges for all types of food categories without going into specific baked goods barriers. I applied general food donation barrier theory to examine the most severe barriers to donating and accepting baked goods to inform the prioritization of interventions and food donation policy. For baked goods donors, the barriers are in the categories of logistics, company culture, and nonprofit relationships. For food banks, I analyzed the barriers in the categories of infrastructure, labor, product desirability, and food donor relations. Baked goods categories were broken down by sweet and savory as well as whole grain and non-whole grain to evaluate donation preference based on nutritional quality. My overarching research question is: What are the challenges and solutions of forming successful partnerships between baked goods donors and food banks? I used a mixed methods approach of collecting both quantitative data through surveys and qualitative data through interviews and survey free response sections. Participants included staff that oversee donation programs at the food banks and baked goods companies. The survey questions included impacts of SB 1383, barriers to donating, and nutritional quality of baked goods. After respondents completed the survey, they were interviewed to expand on the barriers and share solutions. The semi-structured interviews were transcribed, coded, and utilized in a thematic analysis with the survey responses in the barrier categories, impacts of food donation, and SB 1383. The results indicated that not all baked goods are the same when it comes to donating as food banks and baked goods donors found it easier to donate and accept savory over sweet baked goods and whole grain baked goods were also preferable. Baked goods donors found that sweet baked goods were beneficial for nonprofits that are not hunger relief organizations to provide desserts at events and fundraisers. Food banks desired more savory baked goods to be used for meals, while sweets were seen as a donation in moderation or desired seasonally during holiday times. The top barriers for baked goods donors were finding a nonprofit to accept their baked goods donations, and needing to prioritize business needs first before the donation program. The most predominant barriers for food banks were lack of infrastructure, labor shortage, and food donor relations. Both food banks and baked goods donors found that one of the most challenging issues was the high spoilage rate of baked goods. Baked goods donors can be better partners to food banks by providing funding, implementing employee volunteer programs, having leadership prioritize donation efforts, proactively engaging in open communication with food banks, and offering desirable donations that are not close to spoiling. Recommendations for improved implementation of SB 1383 include consideration of nutrition, preventive measures for donation dumping, additional funding to food banks, and increased education to food donors.