We continue to get letters from readers about the IFC and TABLE's decision to break ties with PORCH. Most have said they don't understand why the IFC and TABLE will no longer accept PORCH's food donations, but today we got a letter that offered an alternative view.
Elizabeth Garfunkel works for the IFC, but was also a PORCH neighborhood coordinator. She welcomed PORCH when it started, but as the group's mission changed, it eventually created competition for funding for other hunger-relief groups, she wrote.
" Just because your intentions are good doesn’t mean your efforts will necessarily yield the desired effect. PORCH kept adding more and more pantries and eventually created their own distribution channels. In business, competition is healthy. In the nonprofit world, many donors frown upon a multiplicity of service providers in a small community. Furthermore, the IFC now finds itself in direct competition with PORCH for local funding sources," Garfunkel wrote. "If IFC donors increasingly give to PORCH, while PORCH continues to expand its distribution, IFC’s food supply could be jeopardized."
The IFC is not saying it doesn't need food, it does, Garfunkel writes. It's just asking that donors give that food directly to the IFC, and not go through PORCH.
We're continue to report this story. What questions to do you have? Send comments or questions to me at kferral@newsobserver.com or send your letter to the editor to editor@nando.com.
