A message from the CEO

Author: GFN

Dear Partner – At the end of May, the U.N.’s World Food Programme announced that about 14 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean could experience severe food insecurity this year due to COVID-19. The region’s economy is expected to contract by 5.3%. Pre-COVID, many countries suffered from significant unemployment and poverty rates; amid…

Dear Partner – Food banks across our network have had to adapt their models for food collection and distribution, as many of the direct lines to communities have been shut-down due to COVID-19. According to a recent survey of 47 food banks in our network, 94 percent are reporting an urgent need for food, while…

The Global Food Donation Policy Atlas Identifies Key Barriers and Policy Actions to Reduce Food Waste Boston (June 10, 2020)— Today, the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) released a first-of-its-kind interactive resource to inspire long-term policy solutions to food waste, hunger, and climate change: The Global Food Donation Policy Atlas. In…

“The food bankers empower me to keep my drive, to do what I’m doing for them. They’re the ones on the ground – distributing food in informal settlements, seeing people literally stuck in their homes without any income or food. I really feel for them; I think about them every day when I’m sitting in…

Rise Against Hunger Philippines’ mission is to end hunger by providing food and life-saving aid to the most vulnerable and by creating a global commitment to mobilize the necessary resources. The organization, which was established following an emergency relief response to Typhoon Yolanda, is no stranger to crisis. It provides hunger relief to Filipinos affected…

This past Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that South America is now the “new epicenter” for the coronavirus pandemic. Brazil has the highest number of cases, and both Brazil and Mexico reported record numbers of infections and deaths almost daily last week. About 39 million Brazilians work in the informal economy, which has…

Dear Partner – As lockdowns loosen, the economic devastation caused by COVID-19 remains. In many places, people are now paying significantly more for food due to supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic. This trend, compounded by the steep rise in unemployment worldwide, is making it more difficult for many families to put food on the table….

An interview with Ana Catalina Suarez Peña, Director, Latin America Operations On 12 March – the day the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic – Ana Catalina Suarez Peña was in São Paulo, working with longtime GFN member Mesa Brasil Sesc. “The first emotion that this situation gave me was fear,” Ana said. “Something is going to…

This Sunday, in most countries around the world, families will celebrate Mother’s Day and honor the influence of mothers. At GFN, we applaud our food banking moms – women who are on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis, juggling professional and personal demands – and helping to feed the hungry in their respective communities….

Dear Partner – In a statement to the U.N. Security Council last week, World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley shared that “due to the Coronavirus, an additional 130 million people could be pushed to the brink of starvation by the end of 2020.” Approximately 400 million daily workers in India’s informal sector have been…