Perception and willingness to contribute towards food banking in the Ashanti Region of Ghana

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the perception and willingness to contribute towards food banking in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.Design/methodology/approachStructured questionnaire was used to elicit primary data for the study from 385 respondents via the multistage sampling approach. The quantile regression model was used to analyse the factors that influence the willingness to contribute towards food banks across quantiles of contribution. Factor analysis was further used to examine the perception of food banking.FindingsGender, education and awareness influence the quantiles of contribution. Gender positively influences contribution at the 0.50 quantile. Education negatively affects contribution at the 0.25 and 0.50 quantiles whereas awareness influences contribution at the 0.75 quantiles. The benefit perception of the user and the social status perception of receiving food from food banks convey a sense of positive knowledge concerning what food banking should entail.Research limitations/implicationsThe study provides insights on the determinants affecting the contribution towards food banking across quantiles of contribution. However, it worth noting that, the study uses cross-sectional data which fail to account for the changes over time. A Longitudinal study would therefore be imperative concerning the implementation of food banking.Practical implicationsThe perceived positive knowledge of food banking is suggestive that, the Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) should strengthen measures directed towards the implementation of food banking. Moving forward, non-governmental organisations on the verge of conducting a pilot implementation of food banks should give critical focus to the given area of study as the inhabitants are most likely to be attuned to such a course. Finally, to champion contribution amongst the inhabitants, leaders of food banking initiatives and other stakeholders should work in conjunction with residents that are aware of food banks at the high-income class. This procedure would aid in reducing the chances of low contributions to the implementation of food banking.Social implicationsThis paper provides empirical implications for the development of food banks in Ghana. The findings emanating from this study has substantial social implications, because it serves as an instrumental guide to the implementation of food banks by the MOFA, and when implemented would assuage the poor living conditions of individuals that do not meet a three-square meal per day.Originality/valueIn this research, the authors add to the body of knowledge by employing a quantitative approach. Moreover, the authors extend the frontiers of the methodological approach by using the quantile regression model to understand the factors that influence the contribution towards food banking across quantiles of contribution. Furthermore, several studies in the developed world have been geographically limited to UK, USA, Canada and Germany with few studies in Ghana. Besides, there is limited rigorous empirical study of the perception and willingness to contribute towards food banking in Ghana.

Examining stakeholder’s contribution and developing a framework for food banking implementation in Ghana

“…This is given as: where δ i represent the coefficient of Inverse mills ration (IMR) ( λ i ). Moreover, the significant inverse mills ratio indicates that, sample selection bias is present; hence, this justifies the use of Heckman selection model (Heckman, 1979; Amfo and Ali, 2020; Bannor et al , 2020; Mensah et al , 2021a, 2021b). The empirical model for both the first stage and the second stage are specified as: …”

“…As a result, implementation of food banking in less developed countries such as Ghana can play a significant role in eradicating food insecurity. Nevertheless, this novel social intervention policy remains untapped and relatively new in the Ghanaian perspective (Mensah et al , 2021a, 2021b). About 1.2 million people who represent 5% of the Ghanaian populace have inadequate access to food (Nata et al , 2014).…”

“…Against this backdrop, it can be inferred that the food banks in Ghana, if appropriately structured, articulated and effectively implemented would have a significant positive impact on the lives of people and improve their well-being. However, whilst numerous food banking research have been conducted in affluent countries, such as UK, USA and Germany, Canada (Bacon and Baker, 2017); there is a paucity of research conducted on food banking in developing countries, especially Ghana (Mensah et al , 2021b). Therefore, it necessitates a research on food banking models and stakeholders willingness to contribute to food banking.…”