The role of charitable food assistance during times of crisis

Abstract

We examine the role of charitable food assistance during periods of economic distress by looking at donations to a large Midwestern food bank. We explore the determinants of in-kind food provisions and financial donations during the COVID-19 pandemic and find that both types of assistance dramatically increased at the onset of the pandemic. However, these increases were not persistent. We argue that this is evidence that the charitable food system serves a critical role in facilitating the transmission of federal provisions and charitable donations to households in need during times of crisis.