政府实物援助与慈善服务的挤出：来自免费学校餐食的证据

中文摘要

许多社区组织提供与政府项目类似的服务，但关于政府援助增加如何影响慈善服务的使用和可获得性，现有证据有限。本研究考察通过全校免费餐食项目扩大联邦营养援助的可及性，如何影响美国最大食品银行网络中的食品银行使用情况。免费学校餐食的可及性提高10%，会使食品银行分发的食品数量减少0.9%–1.4%，但不会显著减少捐赠、筹款活动或可供分发的食品数量。食品银行使用量的下降仅见于此前符合政府援助资格的学生相对较少的地区。研究结果表明，即使是面向特定人群、提供有别于慈善组织服务的安全网项目，也能减轻慈善组织所承受的压力，在此前政府援助覆盖不足的地区尤为明显。

Abstract

Many community organizations provide services similar to government programs, but there is limited evidence how increased government aid affects the use and availability of charitable services. This study examines how greater access to federal nutrition assistance through schoolwide free meal programs affects food bank use within the U.S.’s largest food bank network. A 10 percent increase in access to free school meals reduces the amount of food that food banks distribute by 0.9–1.4 percent, without significantly reducing donations, fundraising activity, or the amount of food available. The reduction of food bank use is only found in areas where relatively few students previously qualified for government aid. Our findings highlight that even safety net programs that serve a specific population and offer distinct services can reduce pressures on charitable organizations, particularly in areas previously underserved by government assistance.