Foods Resource Bank

The Foods Resource Bank is a Christian, humanitarian, nongovernmental organization. It is modeled after the successful Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Foods Resource Bank's goal is to engage the grassroots agricultural community, along with individuals, churches, and urban communities, to grow solutions to hunger problems in the world by working to establish food security through sustainable development activities. Food security is achieved “when all persons at all times have the physical and economic access to enough food to provide the nutrients they need for productive, active, and healthy lives.”

The Foods Resource Bank fulfills its mission by forming coalitions with farmers and agricultural establishments and creating plans to produce and provide an effective supply of new resources, by coordinating groups of church and community groups and local farmers to raise crops and money that will be donated for food aid and community development projects, and by establishing indigenous partners in the developing countries to work and implement various programs.

A typical project involves a group of people getting together to farm a common plot of land. Once harvested, the crop is converted to cash that is donated to the Foods Resource Bank to supply seeds, tools, drip irrigation, animals, and instruction to local villagers who work to create community gardens, wells, herds, etc., that will sustain them long-term. The implementing members and Foods Resource Bank carefully monitor all funds. They are distributed through reputable and known agencies. These in-country partners have a proven track record of sustainable food security programming and work with the villagers to help them feed themselves and their families, with extra to share, barter, or sell. The program places a heavy emphasis on food security, that is, helping people feed themselves. Approximately 75 percent of their effort is devoted to food security, with 25 percent directed to hunger relief.

The Foods Resource Bank's funds come from various sources, but mostly they are received through the selling of crops resulting from community growing projects that involve landowners, farmers, agribusinesses, and churches that donate the annual use of land, farm equipment, and farm management. Agribusiness contributes seed, fertilizer, and chemicals.

The implementing members of the Foods Resource Bank are Christian denominations, Christian church agencies, and Christian-based hunger organizations. They participate in established programs with stable partners in international locations and address the issues of food security, nutrition, and food relief. The supporting members of the Foods Resource Bank are individuals, businesses, Christian-based organizations, and other charities. Those members provide advocacy assistance and financial and material resources for hunger relief and food security.