Corporate Social Responsibility to Food Banks

Phillip Veldhuis was president of Savalot Enterprises, a small, family-owned wholesale food business. The company operated in a medium Canadian city and its customers included health and educational institutions, restaurants, catering groups, and service clubs. Savalot's main social responsibility initiative was supporting the local food banks. Surplus edible food items were forwarded weekly to the food banks and the company made a substantial monetary donation each year.

Phillip fully understood the need for the food banks as outlined by Food Banks Canada, a national charitable organization of Canadian food banks. Located in Toronto, its mission was "to reduce hunger in Canada by enabling an effective food bank community that addresses both the short-term need for food and longer-term solutions." Its vision was "to be the voice for the hungry in Canada," and it embraced the values of Teamwork, Transparency, and Integrity.

Every year Food Banks Canada published statistics on hunger and the usage of the food banks, and recommended solutions to hunger. Statistical highlights from a recent publication were the following:

• 349,842 households comprising 851,014 Canadians received food from a food bank in March 2011
• The number using food banks was 26 percent higher than in 2008, and was the second highest level on record
• Food banks assisted 2.5 percent of the Canadian population with 93,085 using assistance for the first time
• Post-secondary students made up 4 percent of those receiving assistance
• There are about 900 food bank facilities across Canada

Corporations contribute about 6,400,000 kilograms of food a year, and about 80 percent of Food Bank Canada's revenues come from corporate donors. It acts as a clearing house mostly for food, sending it out to food banks across the country. Community food banks have their own local sources of food and funding.

The economy had taken a downturn in the area where Savalot operated, and Phillip believed that this might be part of the reason why food bank usage had also increased in his community. It seemed that each year the local food bank was faced with an increasing demand for food.

Despite the frequency of usage and the apparent need for food banks, Phillip had been reading about the problems associated with them. Some critics argued that food banks may provide some relief but they did not really address the problems causing hunger. Even Food Banks Canada indicated that high rents and lack of affordable housing, the high rates for early learning and child care, and an inadequate Employment Insurance system forced Canadians to use food banks.

Phillip also noticed that there had been considerable criticism of the food bank approach to alleviating hunger. Letters to the editor of various newspapers claimed that some users abused the food banks and that many were too lazy to find work. Other critics claimed that hunger will never be eliminated, and to suggest that it could be if more were donated was misleading. Many experiencing hunger did not use the food banks as they were reluctant or too embarrassed to accept charity. Those who do use food banks often felt that the experience was stigmatizing, humiliating, and degrading.

Furthermore, food banks alone were not providing all the food needed and some users were still hungry. Most food banks had to ration food offerings to once a week or month, and the best that could be done was to ensure that users experienced less hunger. Food banks were criticized for not giving out the most nutritious food given the focus on canned fruits and vegetables, staples such as flour and coffee, and boxed dried food like instant soups, macaroni and cheese dinners, and dry cereals. These foods contained salt and trans-fats or other ingredients not desirable in the diets of some people.

Others pointed out that food banks had been operating for over 30 years, having been established during the recession in the 1980s in Alberta. They suggested that the problem of hunger was too big for charities alone to solve and governments would have to help out. In fact, it was suggested that the operation of food banks by charities was enabling governments to avoid their responsibility to this social issue.

Phillip was shocked when he read the comments by Elaine Power, associate professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queen's University about food banks and the role of corporations. In reality, food banks are somewhere to dispose of their surplus edible food they cannot sell. Furthermore, corporate sponsored food drives are good for employee morale but do not result in alleviating hunger as much as claimed. Power emphasizes that the problem of hunger is a complicated one not addressed solely by food banks, and that all are complicit in ignoring the problem. This includes corporations that benefit from their donations by displaying to society that they are good corporate citizens, and by not having to pay to dispose of the food in a landfill.

Phillip felt a little guilty, because in effect his business was using food banks to dispose of food products it could not sell for one reason or another. He wondered if, despite his company's best intentions, it may not be contributing much to address the underlying causes of the problem and to providing sufficient assistance to those in need.

questions

-case study-

The purpose of food banks? Relate answer to Corporate Social Responsibility.

- What is troubling Phillip Veldhuis?

- What is the problem statement that needs to be solved?

- How does the problem statement relate to Corporate Social Responsibility?

- Are Phillip Veldhuis' actions ethical? Explain why or why not?

- SWOT analysis on Savalot Enterprises based on the information your received in the case study.

-three alternatives Phillip Veldhuis should consider if he continues to support the food banks. Describe the pros and cons of each alternative.

- alternatives, what would you recommend Phillip Veldhuis do? Explain your answer. Assess the risks associated with your recommendation and complete an implementation plan for your recommendation.