Who Gives to Food Banks? A Study of Influences Affecting Donations to Food Banks by Individuals

ABSTRACT Food banks have become an essential part of the social welfare arrangements of many countries. Food bank managers need to know why some people give to food banks while others do not, as such knowledge will help them devise effective promotional campaigns. The current research applied Norm Activation Theory to examine the motivations and other factors that encourage individuals (as opposed to businesses) to donate foodstuff to food banks in the United Kingdom. Two major research questions were addressed: (1) how do food bank donors and non-donors perceive the attributes of food bank beneficiaries, and (2) what considerations determine the frequencies of donations? The study employed a structural topic model (STM) to analyze the responses of 544 members of the public to an open-ended question regarding the characteristics of typical food bank beneficiaries. Outcomes were then imported to a structural equation model (SEM) containing “frequency of food bank donation” as the dependent variable.