Esurio: Journal of Hunger and Poverty, Vol 1, No 2 (2009)

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Motivations of Volunteers in a Food Bank Program: A Pilot Investigation

Vivien E. Runnels

Abstract


The voluntary sector makes important contributions to Canadian life. Theoretical models of volunteer motivation offer a number of possible explanations for participation as a volunteer. Four participants took part in in-depth interviews for a pilot research study which sought to understand how the experience of volunteering in the context of a Canadian food bank program might influence participants’ motivations for volunteering. Three themes were evident. First, volunteers liked the people with whom they volunteered which provided motivation to participate as a volunteer. Second, the participants possessed knowledge of local poverty and food insecurity, which motivated them to address it within the context of their community. Third, they framed their volunteering as ‘helping’, not as ‘working’, which meant that their participation was not identified as paid work or a substitute for it. This conception of participation as volunteers also allowed them to see food bank users as neighbours and peers, and clearly meant they were not profiting from the poverty of others.  In addition to theoretical models which provide a foundation for global understanding of people’s motivations to volunteer, these themes suggest that local theories of motivations for volunteering or contextually-based explanations are important.    

 


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Esurio is published by the Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB).