uch of the news today is dominated by disturbing headlines. Searing heat waves, ongoing conflict, and growing food insecurity are all taking a toll on people and communities around the world. These challenges are pushing back progress in many vital areas of human development, hindering advancement toward a more prosperous, healthy, and equitable world.
Among the critical challenges is food security, which is at the core of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2 (to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030). However, trends are largely heading in the wrong direction. Roughly 122 million more people have been pushed into hunger since 2019, according to new UN figures. At the same time, rising climate shocks and economic insecurity threaten to further engrain poverty and vulnerability in both high-and low-income countries, limiting national responses to these pressing challenges.
Food banks—which recover wholesome surplus food from all parts of the food system and distribute it via community organizations to people facing hunger—are a potent solution waiting to be more fully leveraged. The good news is that food banks have a proven track record of having a positive impact which cuts across many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
For example, during interrelated crises in 2022, locally led food banks provided more than 93 million people with food and essential supplies, according to data from the European Food Banks Federation, Feeding America, and The Global FoodBanking Network. Of these, The Global FoodBanking Network helped more than 32 million people get access to food across more than 50 countries, mostly in developing and emerging market economies. Food banks also played a vital role in responding to urgent humanitarian and food security needs, whether in response to the conflict in Ukraine, earthquakes in Turkey, drought in East Africa, and other crises.
To begin with, food banks clearly offer a vital buffer against food insecurity and malnutrition for millions—helping to build a secure and nutritious future for the world’s population through more inclusive food systems.
Food banks serve as a vital safety net for communities in vulnerable situations, providing the food and nutrition needed to lead healthy lives, achieving the goals of zero hunger and also those of SDG 3—good health and wellbeing for all, which cannot be achieved without first meeting basic dietary needs.
Food banks are also playing a key role in providing children in vulnerable communities with the food needed to achieve a quality education and upbringing—a key goal of SDG 4. Research shows that children’s educational attainment and broader development can become stunted due to hunger, yet food banks’ partnerships with schools—for instance, in Australia and Kenya—are ensuring children around the world are not missing out on a vital education for fear of going hungry.
Secondly, food banks also have a key role to play in building more circular economies, while ensuring future growth and production is sustainable for planetary needs, represented by SDG 9.
Even as the world gears up for the next global climate conference, COP28 in Dubai, still one-third of all food produced for human consumption worldwide continues to be lost or wasted, contributing significantly to climate change through food waste emissions. This wasted food not only represents significant wastage from producers and consumers, but also a huge missed opportunity for addressing prevailing hunger challenges in our societies.
Recovering food that would otherwise be unnecessarily wasted not only reduces the environmental impact of our global food system, achieving the SDG 12.3 target of halving global per capita food waste, but also ensures the food we produce can better serve all communities.
Finally, food banks can support vulnerable communities beyond just providing food, building resilience and community capacity to deal with pressing challenges, such as economic insecurity.
Being embedded in local settings, food banks are flexible first responders to the pressing needs of vulnerable communities. In Turkey, food banks helped to create a national disaster response coalition in the immediate aftermath of devastating earthquakes, leveraging their key presence in impacted communities. From hubs of local capacity building to gateways to further safety-net resources, food banks are critical tools for building resilience and protecting against vulnerability in local communities.
Ultimately, achieving the SDGs before the end of this decade means making the most of the plethora of solutions available.
Food banks are one such tool that have yet to be fully appreciated in too many countries, despite the fact that they help build healthier lives, greener outcomes, and improved livelihoods for millions.
It is now in the hands of governments to fully leverage these existing tools in our communities—through supportive policies, funding, and more—to ensure food banks can generate the most good for the most people. Doing so can provide a needed boost toward achieving many of the SDGs.
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The Crucial Role of Food Banks in the World's Sustainability Agenda
Photo via Adobe Stock.
September 22, 2023
Food security is key to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2 & 3, while ensuring sustainable food security is one of the keys to achieving SDG 9. Today food waste contributes to emissions and is a missed opportunity to address hunger—food banks can help with both issues, writes Lisa Moon.
M
uch of the news today is dominated by disturbing headlines. Searing heat waves, ongoing conflict, and growing food insecurity are all taking a toll on people and communities around the world. These challenges are pushing back progress in many vital areas of human development, hindering advancement toward a more prosperous, healthy, and equitable world.
Among the critical challenges is food security, which is at the core of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2 (to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030). However, trends are largely heading in the wrong direction. Roughly 122 million more people have been pushed into hunger since 2019, according to new UN figures. At the same time, rising climate shocks and economic insecurity threaten to further engrain poverty and vulnerability in both high-and low-income countries, limiting national responses to these pressing challenges.
Food banks—which recover wholesome surplus food from all parts of the food system and distribute it via community organizations to people facing hunger—are a potent solution waiting to be more fully leveraged. The good news is that food banks have a proven track record of having a positive impact which cuts across many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
For example, during interrelated crises in 2022, locally led food banks provided more than 93 million people with food and essential supplies, according to data from the European Food Banks Federation, Feeding America, and The Global FoodBanking Network. Of these, The Global FoodBanking Network helped more than 32 million people get access to food across more than 50 countries, mostly in developing and emerging market economies. Food banks also played a vital role in responding to urgent humanitarian and food security needs, whether in response to the conflict in Ukraine, earthquakes in Turkey, drought in East Africa, and other crises.
To begin with, food banks clearly offer a vital buffer against food insecurity and malnutrition for millions—helping to build a secure and nutritious future for the world’s population through more inclusive food systems.
Food banks serve as a vital safety net for communities in vulnerable situations, providing the food and nutrition needed to lead healthy lives, achieving the goals of zero hunger and also those of SDG 3—good health and wellbeing for all, which cannot be achieved without first meeting basic dietary needs.
Food banks are also playing a key role in providing children in vulnerable communities with the food needed to achieve a quality education and upbringing—a key goal of SDG 4. Research shows that children’s educational attainment and broader development can become stunted due to hunger, yet food banks’ partnerships with schools—for instance, in Australia and Kenya—are ensuring children around the world are not missing out on a vital education for fear of going hungry.
Secondly, food banks also have a key role to play in building more circular economies, while ensuring future growth and production is sustainable for planetary needs, represented by SDG 9.
Even as the world gears up for the next global climate conference, COP28 in Dubai, still one-third of all food produced for human consumption worldwide continues to be lost or wasted, contributing significantly to climate change through food waste emissions. This wasted food not only represents significant wastage from producers and consumers, but also a huge missed opportunity for addressing prevailing hunger challenges in our societies.
Recovering food that would otherwise be unnecessarily wasted not only reduces the environmental impact of our global food system, achieving the SDG 12.3 target of halving global per capita food waste, but also ensures the food we produce can better serve all communities.
Finally, food banks can support vulnerable communities beyond just providing food, building resilience and community capacity to deal with pressing challenges, such as economic insecurity.
Being embedded in local settings, food banks are flexible first responders to the pressing needs of vulnerable communities. In Turkey, food banks helped to create a national disaster response coalition in the immediate aftermath of devastating earthquakes, leveraging their key presence in impacted communities. From hubs of local capacity building to gateways to further safety-net resources, food banks are critical tools for building resilience and protecting against vulnerability in local communities.
Ultimately, achieving the SDGs before the end of this decade means making the most of the plethora of solutions available.
Food banks are one such tool that have yet to be fully appreciated in too many countries, despite the fact that they help build healthier lives, greener outcomes, and improved livelihoods for millions.
It is now in the hands of governments to fully leverage these existing tools in our communities—through supportive policies, funding, and more—to ensure food banks can generate the most good for the most people. Doing so can provide a needed boost toward achieving many of the SDGs.
