How food banks are spreading around the world
A program called the Global FoodBanking Network is working to expand the reach of food banking programs worldwide.聽
A program called the Global FoodBanking Network is working to expand the reach of food banking programs worldwide.聽
In 2005, a group of food bank leaders from Canada, Mexico, and the United States met to talk about a global vision for food banking. The idea to share models of successful food banks with the world 鈥� to help start new programs and support existing ones 鈥� turned into what is now聽The Global FoodBanking Network聽(GFN).聽
One in nine聽people in the world is chronically hungry, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. At the same time,聽1.3 billion tons聽of food (about one-third of all food produced for human consumption) is lost or wasted every year. Food banking aims to tackle these two overwhelming statistics with one bite.聽
GFN supports 750 food banks that provide food for the hungry and reduce food waste in 34 countries. The Network provides resources, program models, education, grant funding and certification to local, regional and national food bank programs.聽
In October of 2015, GFN pledged to certify 10 food banks in 10 countries in honor of its 10-year anniversary.聽
The work of GFN helps nations meet the United Nations聽Sustainable Development Goals, a set of targets that U.N. member countries must use to shape policy as they develop and plan for the future. Two of the seventeen goals relate directly to food banking efforts:聽Goal 2: Zero Hunger, and聽Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.
In May of 2015, GFN member organization Feeding Hong Kong (FHK) organized a food drive that provided an estimated 44,324 meals to residents in Hong Kong鈥檚 poorest neighborhoods. According to FHK鈥檚 Executive Director Gabriel Kirstein, there are many advantages to belonging to a global food banking network. 鈥淢embership is like a seal of approval and reassures donors of our credibility,鈥� she聽says.
GFN recently welcomed mainland China鈥檚 very first food bank into its network. Shanghai鈥檚聽Green Food Bank聽opened in part because of the inspiration founder Eve Li took from GFN鈥檚 annual Food Banking Leadership Institute. 鈥淚 think I鈥檝e learned a lot from this conference,鈥� said Li in a聽GFN video. 鈥淚 have a plan to build a food bank immediately after I come back to China.鈥�
This article first appeared on Food Tank.