A recent article on Slate urged readers to never donate a canned food again and instead give money to food banks. The short piece dissects what we've been talking about for a while, namely that a dollar given to a food bank can go much further than spending that same dollar at the grocery store will. Because large food pantries are able to purchase food in bulk, it is worthwhile to ask friends and family members for monetary donations when you want to feed the hungry, instead of just asking them to clean out their pantries. Of course, if you're doing that anyway, then you may as well put the food to good use. But, the next time you want to help fight hunger, send a buck (or twenty) to the local food bank and know that you did a world of good.
What do you think?
Should we all stop doing canned food drives and only ask for money instead?