My own feeling is that it's a big scam. There is now an element of society who use these food banks in place of seeking a job and paying for food themselves.
Food is cheaper now than it was when I was growing up fifty-sixty years ago. Nobody I knew frequented food banks. I never heard of the term until about thirty years ago.
At one congregation where I worked we had a clothing room. Each time we opened the doors for a clothing giveaway we saw the same people coming in. We later discovered that the clothes we gave away were winding up in consignment stores and garage sales.
Overhead two twenty-somethings talking a few days ago. One told the other they had to eat their meals out because it was too expensive to go to the grocery store. It amazes me that although the parking lots at grocery stores are full and I see lots of people buying a lot of groceries, all the restaurants in our area are also busy.
In our day we not only tried to grow as much of our food as we could and we also cooked from scratch. Few younger women I know seem to do that any more. Neighbors also helped neighbors in time of need.
One of the things our business does is help young couples get out of debt and, without exception, the first thing we have to teach is how to make a menu for a week and prepare a grocery shopping list. Most recent couple was spending over $600 a month at fast food restaurants and ate all their meals out. It’s no wonder they don’t have any money.