Web Site Links Food Banks to Surplus-Food Donors

The Hewlett-Packard Company, based in Palo Alto, Cal., has teamed up with America’s Second Harvest, a network of food banks, to create a new Web site, ResourceLink. The site matches food manufacturers that have surplus products to donate with charities that can distribute the food to the hungry.

Manufacturers can enter information on the site about the food they have to donate. ResourceLink’s data base compares the incoming donation with the needs of charities across the country. When a match between a company and charity is found, the system then checks the National Transportation Exchange’s data base for an empty truck that could deliver the donation free or at a reduced rate.

With the site’s automated system, the match between donor and recipient group can be made within hours. Previously, there had been occasions when it took America’s Second Harvest several weeks to let a company know whether one of its member food banks could accept a large donation.

In its first two weeks of operation, the site received commitments of more than a million pounds of food.

By early spring, ResourceLink will include a matching service for clothing donations from manufacturers, followed by a similar service for donated building supplies.

Bill Hornung, ResourceLink’s program manager, says that in addition to helping hunger-relief groups, Hewlett-Packard also wanted to demonstrate the promise that the Internet holds. “It’s not just about selling books on line.”

To get there: Go to http://www.resourcelink.org.