Food Fight

Essential Resources Food Banks Need Amid Looming Recession Fears

As 2023 unfolds, the global economy faces a grim prospect of a recession after a year marked by soaring inflation and supply chain disruptions. As countries and international businesses gathered at Davos, the World Economic Forum issued a call for “bold collective action” to address the multitude of ongoing crises. At the forefront of impending economic turmoil lies the issue of access to healthy food, with projections indicating that acute food insecurity will reach unprecedented levels, surpassing the crisis experienced in 2008.

The impact of the economic crisis will be most severely felt by impoverished communities, which typically allocate a higher portion of their incomes to basic necessities like food. In Colombia, for example, while overall inflation hovers around 12 percent, food inflation skyrocketed to 32 percent in December 2022, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable segments of society.

This potential recession looms large following recent famines and food crises, which have already triggered a significant surge in demand for food bank services in many parts of the world since the onset of the pandemic. As the fourth year of the pandemic begins and economic instability persists, food banks will continue to play a crucial role in addressing the interconnected crises of our time.

To safeguard the most vulnerable segments of society from these mounting challenges, countries and businesses must integrate food banks more extensively into their strategies for tackling the interrelated crises of hunger, climate change, and rising economic insecurity. Governments should start by adopting supportive policies for food donation and broader social protections.

The Global Food Donation Policy Atlas, a collaboration between the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) and The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN), reveals that ineffective policies regarding food donation and waste management hinder food banks from fully realizing their potential in supporting communities. Few governments have implemented tax incentives to encourage greater food donation from manufacturers, retailers, and other businesses, despite this being instrumental to reducing food waste and ensuring that nutritious food reaches those most in need. Moreover, corporations should establish food donation policies and support initiatives that mitigate their own food loss and waste, considering business related waste accounts for a significant portion of the overall total.

In order to address hunger, climate change, and economic insecurity comprehensively, businesses should provide increased support to food recovery organizations. This would ensure that surplus food, which would otherwise go to waste, can play a pivotal role in combating these interconnected crises. For example, The Global FoodBanking Network mobilized corporate support in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, ultimately reaching up to 40 million people worldwide, a significant increase from the 17 million served in 2019.

Governments and businesses must join forces to establish better tracking and management systems for food loss within societies. The impact of lost and wasted food, as well as missed opportunities to address hunger and climate challenges, cannot be underestimated. By implementing unified tracking, measurement, and management practices, we can gain a deeper understanding of the extent of food loss, while ensuring that this surplus food fulfills a valuable purpose: supporting communities in need.

Nearly four years ago, food banks played a critical role in helping communities worldwide navigate the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic by providing essential food and support during a time of unprecedented demand. Now, as hunger and food insecurity rise globally, food banks have the opportunity to once again confront these challenges head-on. With greater unified support from governments and businesses, we can maximize the impact of food banks and make a tangible difference for the most vulnerable communities.

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