Experts Offer Advice on Food-Related Giving

With food banks struggling to bring in donations during a time of increased demand, The New York Times has compiled a giving guide for donors who want to help such charities.

Experts such as Melissa Berman, president of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and an adjunct associate professor in the social-enterprise program at the Columbia Business School, says donors should begin by looking inward. She said, “The question to ask yourself as a donor is, What problem do I want to solve, and how do I best think that it could get solved?”

Ms. Berman suggested that donors consider what size organization to give to first and then follow up by examining the group’s fund-raising and administrative expenses to ensure efficiency in operations.

Others, such as author and nutrition professor Marion Nestle, who teaches at New York University, suggested giving on a “friendship basis,” meaning to groups with whom the donor has a personal connection.

Gael Greene, New York food critic, author, and a board member of Citymeals-on-Wheels, however, said that during a year in which food banks are facing critical shortages, donors should respond first to immediate needs. She said, “To think there are people in New York City that don’t have enough to eat when we eat the way we do is unconscionable.”

(Free registration is required to view this article.)