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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

What is a food bank or food-rescue program? A food bank operates as a distribution center with capabilities for warehousing and distributing prepared and perishable, dry, refrigerated, and frozen products that one might typically find in a grocery store.  these products are then distributed to charitable human service agencies.  Those agencies serve the individuals and families directly through a variety of food or assistance programs.  A food-rescue program or organization describes the manner in which shelf-stable, prepared and perishable, refrigerated, and frozen product is retrieved and distributed.  Food rescue programs typically pick-up product and immediately deliver the product to one or more of their agency members.  FIND funnels food and grocery items to collectively over 65 charitable agencies in the Coachella Valley, and those items end up reaching those in need in the Coachella Valley at no cost to the individual or family.

Why do companies donate product to FIND? Donations reduce the cost associated with warehouse storage and dumping, and companies are able to take a tax deduction when donating.  Brand integrity is protected through strict standards for product handling and inventory control, and annual monitoring and inspecting of FIND's agency members.

How do I donate to FIND? Please access our Donation Web Site for all of the information.

Are there tax benefits when donating to FIND? Yes.  Donors may receive federal and/or state tax benefits for contributions of product of up to twice the cost of goods.  Companies are urged to consult their corporate tax specialists concerning specific product donations, allowable deductions, and any changes of the tax code.

How is product integrity assured? FIND distributes donated products only to affiliate 501 (c) (3), registered member agencies.  A computerized system for inventory enables FIND to track the movement of product and provide recall capabilities.

What about product liability? The National "Bill Emerson Food Donation Good Samaritan Act" was designed to encourage donations of grocery products to non-profit organizations.  Essentially, if the donor does not act with negligence or intentional misconduct, the donor is not liable for damage incurred as the result of illness or disease contacted by the ultimate recipient of the food due to nature, age, packaging or condition of the product.

GLOSSARY

Nutritional Terms:

Food insecurity- The limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods, including involuntarily cutting back on meals, food portions or not knowing the source of the next meal.

Food security- Access to enough food for an active, healthy life.  At a minimum, food security includes: (1) the ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, and (2) an assured ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways (e.g., without resorting to emergency food supplies, scavenging or other coping strategies).

Hunger- The uneasy or painful sensation caused by a recurrent or involuntary lack of access to food.  Many scientists consider hunger to be chronically inadequate nutritional intake due to low incomes (i.e., people do not have to experience pain to be hungry from a nutritional perspective).

Malnutrition- A serious health impairment that results from substandard nutrient intake.  Malnutrition may result from a lack of food, a chronic shortage of key nutrients, or impaired absorption or metabolism associated with chronic conditions or disease.

Obesity- An abnormal accumulation of body fat that may result in health impairments.  Obesity is generally defined by the National Institutes of Health as having body weight that is more than 20% above the high range for ideal body weight.

Under-nutrition- The consequence of consuming food that is inadequate in quantity and/or nutritional quality.

Food Program Terms:

After-School Snack Program- The After-School Snack Program provides nutritious snacks and meals to low-income children participating in after-school programs.  It is run under the auspices of both the National School Lunch Program and the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

Child and Adult Care Food Program- The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federal program that provides healthy meals and snacks to children and adults (elderly people unable to care for themselves) in day care settings.

Commodity Supplemental Food Program- The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CACFP) works to improve the health of low-income children, mothers and other people at least 60 years old by supplementing their diets with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) commodity foods.  USDA administers CSFP at the federal level. providing food and administrative funds to states, through not all states participate.

Elderly food programs- Federal nutrition programs that specifically target at-risk elderly people and include home-delivered meals and congregate meals program, which provide meals at central facilities in group settings.

Emergency food program- Emergency food programs distribute donated food items to hungry people through avenues such as shelters, soup kitchens and food pantries, which usually are supplied by food banks.  Such programs typically are run by private, nonprofit community organizations.

Food bank- A charitable organization that solicits, receives, inventories, stores and donates food and grocery products pursuant to grocery industry and appropriate standards.  These products are distributed to charitable human service agencies, which provide the products directly to clients.

Food pantry- Nonprofit organizations (typically small in size) such as religious institutions or social service agencies, that receive donated food items and distribute them to hungry people.

Food Stamp Program- The Federal Food Stamp Program serves as the first line of defense against hunger.  It enables low-income families to buy nutritious food with Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards.  Food stamp recipients are able to buy eligible food items in authorized retail food stores.  The program is the cornerstone of the federal food assistance programs and provides crucial support to low-income households and those making the transition from welfare to work.

School Lunch and Breakfast Programs- The National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs are federally assisted meal programs operating in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions.  They provide nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free meals to children each school day.

Soup kitchen- An organization whose primary purpose is to provide prepared meals served in a local agency kitchen for hungry people.

Summer Food Service Program- the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) provides reimbursements to schools, local government agencies and community-based organizations for meals and snacks served to children during the summer months.  Geared toward low-income children, the SFSP is the single largest federal resource available for local sponsors who want to combine a feeding program with a summer activity program.

Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)- WIC provides supplemental nutritious foods, as well nutrition counseling, to low-income, nutritionally at-risk pregnant women, infants and children up to age 5.

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)- Under TEFAP, commodity foods are made available by the USDA to states.  States provide the food to local agencies that are selected, usually food banks, which distribute the food to soup kitchens and food pantries that directly serve the public.