Non-Governmental Emergency Food Services: A Descriptive Study of the Tertiary Welfare Sector

Authors

Stanley Wenocur, University of Maryland

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of an exploratory study of voluntarily organized emergency food centers in Baltimore. These agencies comprise the heart of a tertiary welfare system that provides basic survival supplies without a means test to the needy who cannot obtain relief from traditional public or private sources. Forty-one emergency food services were identified in Baltimore and the heads of 37 of these agencies were interviewed in depth. The findings indicated that a large and heterogeneous population bad utilized emergency food agencies and that the agencies generally met the requisites for a true safety-net function - i.e., accessibility, non-bureaucratic structure, and few eligibility rules. The data suggest strengthening the role of voluntary charitable agencies in welfare reforms directed at achieving universal safety-net coverage in the society.

Recommended Citation

Wenocur, Stanley (1980) "Non-Governmental Emergency Food Services: A Descriptive Study of the Tertiary Welfare Sector," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 7: Iss. 4, Article 3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15453/0191-5096.1427
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol7/iss4/3