Food banks adapt to meet critical needs during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted food supply chains around the world in human settlements. Global Food Bank Network (GFN) member food banks overcame these challenges with agility and perseverance, devising creative strategies to feed around 40 million people in 2020. Discuss 48 views

Food acquisition channels have changed unexpectedly for food banks because of the global health crisis. Restrictions on shelter accommodation hampered restaurants and hotels, and with them the source of donations of prepared food. Meanwhile, food distributors and farmers were left with huge volumes of perishable food to donate, but only as fast as food banks could store and distribute it. Increased demand at the consumer level left grocery shops empty with little food left to donate to food banks. At the same time, rising unemployment put additional pressure on the system and millions of people were left food insecure and in need of the critical services provided by food banks.

Despite these obstacles, food banks have found ways to procure food to meet the needs of the population. Thanks to the efforts of local leaders and partner organisations, GFN member food banks have distributed more than 882 million kilogrammes of food and groceries in 2020, the largest volume distributed by the Network to date.

Across the network, the biggest challenges faced by food banks were reductions in food purchases from the hospitality and restaurant sectors, as well as from grocers and retailers. Donations from these sources fell from 27 per cent to 19 per cent and from 12 per cent to 4 per cent, respectively, in 2020. In the pre-pandemic period, FoodCycle Indonesia collected surplus cooked and raw food from markets and caterers across Jakarta; however, when the pandemic began, these food sources disappeared. In response, FoodCycle stepped up its fundraising efforts and developed a stronger and wider network of partnerships with corporations able to support food banks. A strengthened relationship with McDonald’s led to the donation of several pallets of frozen meat and pies, allowing FoodCycle to provide for thousands of people. And this is just one of the creative partnerships established by FoodCycle in 2020, with the food bank collecting and distributing nearly 180 tonnes of food, especially to health workers and vulnerable or needy communities.

While donations from grocery shops and caterers declined overall, member food banks reported a 5 per cent increase in food supplies from farms and ranches, from 6 to 11 per cent, and a 13 per cent increase in supplies from producers and processors, from 23 to 36 per cent in 2020. Food banks had to increase capacity as they received large volumes of perishable and commercial-sized food from these sectors, so they expanded storage capacity and purchased additional equipment to support wider distribution. Many of these programmes were supported in part by partners such as GFN, which distributed emergency grants during the COVID-19 crisis.

Food banks such as Scholars of Sustenance Thailand received large donations from food producers and set up “Rescue Kitchens” programmes to prepare and distribute ready-made meals quickly as stock was limited. They partnered with hotels with commercial kitchens and refrigerators to set up satellite outlets to feed more people. By the end of 2020, Scholars of Sustenance Thailand had served more than 4.25 million people and distributed more than 1 million kilogrammes of food.

The COVID-19 pandemic has strained GFN member food banks and at the same time demonstrated their ability to adapt. Despite the challenges of the past year, the Network will continue to engage a diverse network of partners and donors, which will increase capacity for food recovery and distribution.

Food banks have always been really good problem solvers.
Karen Hanner GFN Director of Product Sourcing and Strategic Partnerships

“Они понимают, что им необходимо удовлетворять потребности людей, которым они служат. Это был напряженный год для системы, но он действительно продемонстрировал устойчивость, креативность, приверженность и потенциал Сети”. Карен Ханнер Директор GFN по закупкам продукции и стратегическим партнерствам

To find out more about the work done by GFN food banks in 2020, check out a summary of what we learned from our Network’s latest annual survey.

Source: https://www.foodbanking.org/despite-supply-chain-disruptions-food-banks-adapt-to-meet-critical-needs-during-covid-19/?ref=vc.ru