Food bank partnerships with corporations: a social network analysis

Purpose This study aims to enhance the literature on non-profit organisations, social capital and resource dependence theory by analysing the websites of high-revenue US food banks to identify multinational corporate partners. This exploratory study uses social network analysis (SNA) to determine the optimal positioning for food banks aiming to increase revenue through partnerships with multinational corporations outside the food industry. Design/methodology/approach The websites of the top 300 food banks by revenue in the USA in 2022 were analysed to identify their 2023 Fortune Global 500 partner corporations during October and November 2023. Centrality and structural hole measurements were performed using SNA. The measures with the highest correlation with revenue per partner were identified using statistical analysis. Findings Food banks with high closeness (centrality), constraint and indirect (structural hole measures) scores achieved high revenue per partner, even with just one corporate partner outside the food industry. These results underscore the critical role of strategic corporate partnerships in enhancing food banks’ financial sustainability and independence. Originality/value Through the lens of the social capital and resource dependence theories, this study enhances the understanding of how food banks can strategically partner with multinational corporations outside the food industry to maximise revenue and autonomy. Methodologically, it highlights the use of websites as data sources and SNA to examine the partnership network structures of nonprofit organisations.