Non-profit Organization in San Antonio - Case Study Example

San Antonio Food Bank The San Antonio Food Bank provides services to 15 Southwest Texas Counties with a primary mission of fighting hunger through food distribution, programs, education and advocacy. The non-profit organization acts as a clearinghouse and receives and stores food by the truckloads. Food that is donated includes produce and other grocery items and these products are then distributed to over 500 agencies’ which help people that are in need. Food that is donated most often comes from major brand names and is usually the result of overproduction, inventory control errors, packaging errors, coupon expiration dates and fast approaching sell-by dates. Commodities are donated by the United States Department of Agriculture and local Texas farmers supply fresh produce while various food drives throughout the year depend on the donations received from the general public. The food bank is able to distribute food to more than 40,000 families monthly through a variety of programs that are chosen and designed in order to meet the mission of the organization. The largest program is the warehouse distribution program aside from the commodities program. Various community food drives, along with purchased and donated food supplies the warehouse and client agencies are charged a small fee to offset the cost of storage, repairs, utility and personnel (San Antonio…). The kid’s café confronts the problem of child hunger by coordinating with local after school programs which provide a safe place where kids can receive a nutritious meal and homework help through a staff that mostly consists of volunteers. Statistics show that nearly 40% of emergency food bank clients are children and this program provides locations that are centrally located and easily accessible to the client population. San Antonio Food Bank also extends to the community an invitation to become partners in this program and to establish new kid café locations (Fighting…). The Fresh Produce Program salvages and distributes 2-3 million pounds of nutritious food items throughout the service area. Most are donated from commercial packing sheds from local farmers. Trustees of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice provide many pounds of produce that is planted and worked by the trustees. Once processed it is provided free of charge to the many agencies the organization serves. The program has an award winning facility that is located in Pearsall, Texas and funding to assist in the costs come from volunteer’s and farm workers. Only two workers are actually on staff and paid and when donations in cash are made they are used to purchase food goods. This program provides seasonal produce (Fighting…). The organization also provides several programs tailored to senior client, Project Hope and the Senior Famers Market. Project Hope provides free groceries and commodities to seniors who meet eligibility requirements and the Senior Farmer’s Market provides fresh produce needs to clients meeting income guidelines. This program is available from May thru September and eligibility criteria include recipients of food stamps, Medicaid, SSI and TANF (Senior…). Nutrition programs try to meet the needs of special needs population such as diabetes, and nutrition education. The garden networks consist of individual enthusiasts who chose to bring extra produce items to collection areas. Distribution programs are mobile, as well as through food fairs. A Daisy Cares Pet Food program allows families with low income to receive valuable pet food free of charge in order that they might be able to maintain and keep their pets in the home (Daisy Care…). The programs described are not all inclusive and there are many more programs offered through the organization. These programs meet the mission statement and complete the vision that the program ultimately is responsible for. The Executive Director of the program is Eric Cooper and in publicized conversations (Video…) he describes his primary role as doing whatever is necessary to fight hunger and meet the needs of area individuals. With over thirty years in operation, feeding 58,000 weekly, there has been an incredible increase in the amount of need in the preceding four years. Due to current economy the demand for services has gone up while the ability of individuals to donate has decreased though Eric works hard to remain positive and meet objectives. Volunteers play various roles in the organization. The Farmers Market and produce programs require individuals who are willing to wash and distribute the produce. The warehouse requires volunteers to use pickup trucks and trailers when conditions require that crops be ‘gleaned’ at particular times. Because the organization relies heavily on volunteers and donations it is important that the leadership and organization of the Executive staff be strong. Eric describes the business model as one that has an excellent return on investment and states that for every dollar that is donated, fifteen dollars’ worth of food is produced, distributed, and provided. In order to assist individuals in reaching self –sufficiency they also operate a call center which takes phone calls from those in need to connect individuals with the correct resources within the community. They offer people the chance to work in one of the kitchens which provide food for the homeless, allowing them the opportunity to gain some employability skills. Examples of the leadership and ethics of the organization were demonstrated during disasters such as hurricane Katrina. The organization demonstrates a high level of ethics and accountability by the extremely thrifty way that donated money is used to meet community needs. A 20 dollar contribution provides 140 meals and a fifty dollar contribution provides 350 meals. This shows that accounts receivable and expenditures are wise though statistics show that the food bank is a long way from meeting the entire community need. Over 44 million pounds of food would need to be collected and distributed in order to entirely meet the hunger needs of the 16 county areas. The biggest challenges are the high rates of hunger, poor area nutrition habits, and the associated problems that stem from these factors. The targeted areas in need of assistance are overcrowded with senior citizens with little ability to meet their own needs. Community problems such as homelessness, overcrowded living conditions, substance abuse, unemployment, teenage pregnancy, crime and broken families present the most difficult challenges to meet within the community. Partner agencies rely on San Antonio Food banks to supply 20 to 100% of their needs and it is not also easy or possible to meet these needs. Partner agencies include area soup kitchens, churches, neighborhood centers, rehabs, crisis centers, orphanages, hospice facilities, and low-income daycare facilities (About…). Through the company’s website you are also able to receive a case worker referral for yourself as an individual or organization, there are also option to apply for State Medicaid, food stamps, cash assistance, WIC, women’s health programs and also long term Medicaid for those with disabilities. There are many ways that you are able to assist San Antonio. You are able to donate valuable time through volunteer services, cash donations, and the donation of produce and food items and through community advocacy. Advocacy allows you to become closely involved in the systemic and root causes that lead to hunger issues to start with. This organization has been productive for many years and looks to be a strong and healthy organization with plans to be active for years to come. Campaigns that they are currently involved in include the letter carrier hunger food drive; faith based interactive conferences, musical entertainment that requests donations for admission, annual golf tournaments and a ‘Clean the shelves’ campaign. At a meeting conducted with Romulo Spiller I learned that there are 26 board members and though Eric has final authority the board members do vote on important business decisions. There is a meeting each month to discuss and decide on any new issues which usually takes approximately an hour. The biggest issues that are usually on the agenda are finding more funding sources, the quality of client services, and finding volunteers to cover their current and future needs. Solving this problem requires them to put more effort into communicating their issues and what they need to reach their goals through meeting with company’s managers and developing new programs. Another problem is they cannot do any kind of business generating income that is not donated as they will have to pay taxes and they are currently a tax-exempt organization. It is important to remain tax-exempt allowing people to donate to them and receive a tax deduction or some form of tax credit. References San Antonio Food Bank. (2012). Programs. Browse the Different Programs That San Antonio Food Bank Offers. Retrieved March 10, 2012, from http://www.safoodbank.org/index.php/programs Fighting Hunger... Feeding Hope. (2012). San Antonio Food Bank. Retrieved March 10, 2012, from http://www.safoodbank.org/index.php?option=com_content Senior Farmers Market. (2012). San Antonio Food Bank. Retrieved March 10, 2012, from http://www.safoodbank.org/index.php/programs/seniors/senior-farmers-market?option=com_content DaisyCares Pet Food Program. (2012). San Antonio Food Bank. Retrieved March 10, 2012, from http://www.safoodbank.org/index.php/programs/distribution-programs/daisycares-pet-food-program Video: Eric Cooper, San Antonio Food Bank | Watch Conversations Online | KLRN Video. (2010). PBS.org. Retrieved March 10, 2012, from http://video.klrn.org/video/1651309119/ About Us. (2012). Facts about the San Antonio Food Bank. Retrieved March 10, 2012, from http://www.safoodbank.org/index.php/info/about-us Read More