In Ghana, a Food Bank Is Providing More Than Just Meals

It’s a warm Friday evening in late August, and on the second floor of a shopping complex in Kasoa, a bustling commercial hub in Accra, a long, slightly haphazard line snakes down the length of the balcony, leading to a glass-panelled door. That door opens into one of the five branches of a recently-opened food bank in Accra — an initiative that has been met with both excitement and modest scepticism. These food banks are all under the RNAQ Foundation, a non-profit organisation owned by Ghanaian businessman Richard Nii Armah Quaye. 

Every day, these centers welcome anyone looking to have a meal, provided they have a Ghana card — the country’s official means of identification. The menu, while lean, is made up of staple meals and proteins: jollof rice, spaghetti, chicken, and eggs. On any given day, the space is filled with people of all ages and demographics, including students, economically disadvantaged families, out-of-work elderly folks, and even professionals who simply need extra help. 

Felix Arthur, a travel consultant, first heard about the food bank through social media. “I came and had a feel of the food, and I think it’s a brilliant idea,” he tells OkayAfrica. Arthur adds that putting up a food bank in places like Kasoa and other communities where it’s very difficult to get three square meals a day is a welcome development.

For students like Edna Siawor, 21, the food bank has been of great help, as they are not always able to afford food. “I am glad that this came here. I can walk to this place from my house and get something to eat,” she says.

According to Josie Aku Baiden, an administrator for all the RNAQ Food Bank branches in Accra, 1,200 people were fed during opening day on August 1 across all branches. “The numbers have been increasing since then. [In less than a month], we have fed about 17,000 Ghanaians,” she says. Baiden says it has gotten progressively hectic as more people become aware of the initiative, but that it is also fulfilling.

Due to climate change and environmental factors, Ghana’s agricultural sector is facing losses and food insecurity. It is this gap that the RNAQ Foundation says it is committed to helping fix. “I’ve always felt that it’s wrong for any human being to wake up and not eat and go to bed,” says Quaye, the founder of the food bank. For him, this initiative is deeply personal, tracing back to a childhood where food was often scarce. “My mother had to go through a lot to make sure that I got something to eat with my sister.”

Quasi-community centers

While these food banks are solving the issue of hunger, for many people in the neighborhood where they are, they are also solving a hunger for community. It’s an unintended byproduct that has made them more than food banks.

People who visit the Kasoa branch of the RNAQ Food Bank tell OkayAfrica that it is where they come to meet other people in their community. The food banks themselves, which are built like restaurants, with comfortable seating, tables, and adequate ventilation, offer a dignified aspect to this form of charity. That air of comfort and openness is what makes them suitable for communal bonding.

“Ordinarily, when food is shared [for free] in Ghana, it’s either the food is shared on the street or people have to justle to get it,” Baiden, the administrator, says. “But this is a situation where I can sit comfortably. There could be people who ordinarily would be fighting on the streets, but this afternoon, they can simply come and get food to eat.”

Quaye himself admits that the primary motive wasn’t to set up a community space. “But of course, when more human beings assemble somewhere, they tend to socialize, and I think that is an indirect benefit of the entire project.”

A new culture

At the start of the RNAQ food bank initiative, Quaye, as well as many of the people who now frequent the food banks, say there was skepticism around its motive and the intended outcome for the man who set them up. These skepticisms are relatively warranted. Despite the various economic difficulties that have left Ghana reeling and trying to find its feet, there aren’t many government-funded food banks or immediate relief initiatives available.

This means that initiatives like food banks, especially one set up by a private individual, who says he has no political aspirations, can make people wary. It has also raised questions as to the longevity of a project of this scale.

“Some have asked whether it's sustainable. I think that in this life, whenever you take on any complex problem to fix, because it's a complex problem, many people assume that there should be something behind this,” Quaye says. Right now, the RNAQ is funded by Quaye’s personal contributions, which he says have been planned for and allocated over the years. The food banks are also bolstered by and open to donations and volunteers.

On a broader scale, though, many say this initiative is shifting the culture around what social service can look like. Arthur, the travel consultant, hopes that the stigma surrounding people accessing food banks will further vanish. “I also urge other philanthropists, civil societies, and politicians to venture into something like this. Clothing, housing, so that it will also help us shape Ghanaians and the kind of society that we all want,” he says.

On his part, Quaye sees the food banks as a stepping stone to developing other initiatives that can ensure people do not have to rely on them. “The next phase is to be able to identify people who always come every day to depend on us and find out what their problems are,” Quaye says. The idea would be to direct or offer them skill training or avenues to equip themselves. “And once we have done that, we'll blacklist you from coming to the food bank, so we can create space for people who truly need it.” 

Quaye concludes, “We don't want this to become grounds to breed laziness. We want to make sure that everybody will go out there, work hard, and contribute to the economic development of our country.”