• About the Study
• Methodology
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• Who We Serve
• How We Serve
• Local Picture
• Snapshot Comparisons
  • Selected Subgroups
  • Income & Other Variables
  • Metropolitan Status
  • Choices
  • Food Stamp Receipt
  • Food Stamps & Food Security
  • Three Study Comparison
    • Client Characteristics
    • Program Characteristics
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Comparison of Selected Program Characteristics (16.2)

Table 16.2.1 presents selected characteristics of the emergency food programs in the A2H national network.  To examine possible trends in those variables, we present results from the 1993, 1997, 2001, and 2005 A2H national research studies together in the table.

The percentage of the programs run by faith-based or religion-affiliated organizations appears to have gradually increased through 2001, but it dropped somewhat in 2005.  The upward trend during the previous study periods is most notable among the shelter programs.  Compared with 1993, when only 28% of the shelters were run by faith-based agencies, as many as 43% were run by faith-based agencies in 2001 and 2005, an increase of 15 percentage points.  Although not as dramatic, there was a steady increase of about 5 points in the percentage of pantry programs operated by faith-based agencies between 1997 and 2001, followed by a small decrease in 2005.  The percentage of kitchen programs in this category was stable, at 71% until 2005, when it declined to 66%.

As for the percentage of the programs that have been in operation for 10 or more years, the pantries and the kitchens show consistent upward trends from 1993 to 2005.  These figures indicate a stable network of emergency food programs in A2H.  The share of shelters at least 10 years old, on the other hand, decreased between 1993 and 1997 (from 43% to 36%), then grew dramatically to 65% in 2001, which suggests that many shelters opened between 1987 and 1991.  The percentage is maintained at a similar level (66%) in 2005.

Table 16.2.1
SELECTED AGENCY CHARACTERISTICS IN
1993, 1997, 2001, AND 2005

	1993	1997	2001	2005
Percentage Faith-Based
Pantries	71.1%	72.0%	75.7%	74.3%
Kitchens	70.8%	70.9%	71.4%	65.5%
Shelters	28.0%	29.5%	43.0%	42.9%
Percentage More than 10 Years Old
Pantries	41.5%	44.0%	48.5%	49.8%
Kitchens	34.7%	40.4%	52.2%	55.8%
Shelters	42.8%	35.7%	64.7%	65.9%
Percentage of Food Received from Food Bank
Pantries	60.6%	61.4%	58.5%	74.0%
Kitchens	40.9%	45.4%	43.1%	48.8%
Shelters	37.6%	38.3%	35.8%	41.2%

Note:   
Data for 1993, 1997, 2001 are taken from two previous Second Harvest reports.  Data for 2005 are taken from tables presented in earlier chapters of this report.

a The percentage of affirmative answers to this question increased considerably in 2005, in part because of changes in the way related questions were asked and analyzed.

The percentage of the food received from the affiliated food banks had been fairly stable over the three earlier time periods for all three program types.  However, in 2005, this share moved up notably for all program types.  The average percentage of food received from food banks increased by 16 points, to 74%, for pantries; by 6 percentage points, to 49%, for kitchens; and by 5 percentage points, to 41%, for shelters.