What is a Gap Analysis?
Our Gap Analysis is a statistical view of how effectively the Maryland Food Bank is feeding the hungry in each county in our service area. The Maryland Food Bank serves every county in Maryland except Prince George’s and Montgomery County which is served by the Capital Area Food Bank.
All research and surveying conducted for the Gap Analysis occurred during September 2008 through January 2009. The project was undertaken by Stephany Whitaker, a Bill Emerson Hunger Fellow from the Congressional Hunger Center.
The Gap Analysis found that in the 22 counties the Maryland Food Bank served—there were only two underperforming counties. The formula used for meeting the need in each county was defined by Feeding America. The formula states that we must take the total number of pounds distributed to each county and divide that by the number of people in poverty in each of those counties. This number must equal or exceed 50 percent of the Network Service Area median which for Maryland is 9.5 pounds of food per person in poverty.
Through this study, the Maryland Food Bank found that it must increase distribution to Baltimore County and Kent County to ensure that the need is being met adequately in these counties. In order to do this, the Maryland Food Bank is recruiting new network partners in these areas as well as reassessing the ones that are already members.
For the complete report, download our Gap Analysis here.
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