【Office of University Social Responsibility】

In mid-May 2021 Taiwan’s COVID-19 surge pushed the nation to Level 3 alert, disrupting daily life and hitting vulnerable groups hardest as wages were cut or jobs disappeared. Many frontline organizations quickly mobilized. Long-term partner Zhong-Xin Food Bank, run by the Hsin-Yi Social Welfare Foundation, expanded its reach through multiple donation channels and, with NCCU’s USR project “Thriving Wenshan: University–Community Cooperation,” provided on-campus, low-income students with canned food, water, instant noodles, and other staples.

To explore such support systems, the “Thriving Wenshan” team held the lecture “Poverty in Practice Ⅰ: Steady Hands in a Pandemic” on 31 March 2022, inviting Deputy Executive Director Lu Chung-Shu of the Hsin-Yi Foundation to explain food-bank models—from donor criteria to client eligibility—and how they backstop people in need.

Civil Society Autonomy

Hsin-Yi’s food bank pursues seven goals: valuing food, serving as a resource hub, ending hunger, acting as a disaster storehouse, protecting the environment, strengthening community ties, and providing education.

Lu noted that some retailers incinerate near-expiry items, worsening air pollution, whereas donating them lets food banks distribute supplies before they spoil, cutting waste and emissions. A nationwide food-bank network also allows rapid redeployment of stock during disasters, preventing both shortages and duplication.

Members are mainly low-income, near-poor, or emergency cases. Not every legal low-income household qualifies; staff visit and verify need to prevent abuse. For families facing sudden crises outside the system, branch managers may grant assistance ad-hoc—flexibility public agencies often lack—so resources reach those who truly need them.

Challenges for Food Banks

Lu highlighted two hurdles: not-in-my-back-yard attitudes and unstable supply. Some residents fear that a food bank will draw low-income households and depress property values. Supply is unpredictable because most donors have no binding contracts: sudden surpluses require rapid redistribution, while shortages demand new drives or purchases to keep shelves stocked.

Continuing the Conversation on Poverty

Pandemic relief is not one institution’s burden; coordinated networks lighten the load so people can stand on their own. NCCU’s “Thriving Wenshan” project, long focused on poverty, now offers the course “Economics of Poverty”, inviting scholars and practitioners to share theory and fieldwork, strengthening students’ research and action skills.

Faculty, staff, and students interested in the project can follow the “Thriving Wenshan” Facebook page or email the office at nccuusr@gmail.com.