The Problem with Giving Free Food to Hungry People

Posted on June 30, 2010 at 8:02 am

NPR recently released a 15 minute video which explains unintended impact that giving away free food has on the local economy. It’s something I’ve written about extensively and the video is definitely worth watching if you are unfamiliar with the concept.

Here’s the link to the NPR story: The Problem with Giving Free Food to Hungry People

Update: Here’s a related story in Foreign Policy discussing how imports undermine local production.

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6 questions you should ask before donating goods overseas

Why do aid bloggers get snarky?

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Comments
  • Brigid June 30, 2010 at 10:30 am

    This was also on Frontline on PBS last night http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/haiti-aid/ following a great (and heartbreaking) story about how the Play Pump initiative in some parts of rural Africa ended up leaving residents with less access to water than before.

  • [...] The problem with giving free food to hungry people – Good Intentions are Not Enough [...]

  • Bettyviolet101 January 30, 2012 at 1:15 pm

    WOW!!! I find this amazing that a radio station like NPR would air this! I am actually stunned beyond words. So if they don’t support giving food to starving people I think they should also support pulling ALL GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS THAT GIVE FREE FOOD TO MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WITH MONEY WE DON’T HAVE!!!!!!!!!!!! Millions if not billions are dumped into people who don’t go to work because the government paying them to sit on the couch, people who choose not to breast feed because the government is buying their formula, people who buy all their food on with food stamps so they have enough money to buy their cigarettes and beer. The hypocrisy!!!! I know for a fact that very few people don’t do that but I also know for a fact that many many many do. This is all insane.

    • Saundra January 30, 2012 at 2:52 pm

      Betty,

      I think you’re too emotional to understand the argument being made.