Fifteen years ago, The Global FoodBanking Network was created to ensure that people around the world have access to food. The mission was simple: launch, strengthen, and sustain a global network of local food banks to support communities when they need it most. This mission still guides us today. Innovate to Alleviate celebrates our 15th…
Author: GFN
Recent data on global hunger illustrates a somber truth: approximately 768 million people around the world faced hunger in 2020 — an increase of 118 million people over the past year alone. Food banks supported by The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN) witnessed this increase firsthand: 40 million people across 44 countries turned to a GFN…
About 8 percent of Latin America’s population — or 50 million people — identify as Indigenous according to the United Nations Development Programme. Due to systemic exclusion, social marginalization, geographic isolation, and other factors, Indigenous peoples are nearly three times as likely to be living in extreme poverty compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. Because food…
Prior to the onset of COVID-19, food banks supported by The Global FoodBanking Network were already addressing child hunger, through establishing or supplementing programs run by schools and other organizations. However, the pandemic has further underscored the necessity of these programs for the health of children and their communities. The World Food Programme estimated that by April 2020, 370…
By Anthony Kitchen and Gabriela Kafarhire In late June, more than 40 food banking professionals from seven countries met to exchange ideas, best practices, and expertise as a part of the 2021 Africa Food Bank Incubator Conference. Due to the pandemic, it was the first time this group had the opportunity to get together in…
Food banks across Africa expanded exponentially during 2020 to support increased need in their communities during the COVID-19 crisis. Last year, African food banks in The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN) increased people served by 169 percent increase over 2019 and distributed 8 million kilograms of food, an 80 percent increase. COVID-19 first appeared in Africa in February 2020, and shortly after, protective public health measures like curfews, quarantines, and school and business closures were put in…
As communities went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, food supply chains were disrupted around the world. The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN) member food banks navigated these challenges with agility and tenacity, developing creative strategies that fed approximately 40 million people in 2020. Channels to acquire food suddenly shifted for food banks because of…
As food insecurity rose because of the COVID-19 pandemic, food banks in Latin America doubled their efforts and brought together like-minded partners to meet the pressing community need. Latin America accounts for three of the ten countries with the highest total of coronavirus cases — Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina — and the region is currently…
Food banks increased their reach by 132 percent over the previous year due to increased demand for food caused by pandemic and faltering economic conditions. Chicago, IL, USA (July 7, 2021) – Today, The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN) announced that food banks in 44 countries served 40 million people in 2020, a 132 percent increase over…
The civil war in Syria, which started more than a decade ago, has forced 6.6 million people to flee the country and internally displaced another 6.7 million, creating the world’s largest refugee crisis. About 5.5 million Syrians are now in neighboring countries — particularly Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan — according to the United Nations refugee…