You can't receive a living wage unless you work.
As a 25 year director of a non-profit program I began to see the need to shift from only doing projects/programs to also doing policy work.
Food banking as well as other antihunger programs do a good job of managing poverty by alleviating its worst symptom, hunger.
We cannot end hunger unless we end poverty.
Your projects can often demonstrative new and innovative approaches that can be supported and eventually replicated with greater support from the public sector. Showing up and speaking up at city council and state legislature hearings are essential, but so is the project work.