By Ellina Kushnir, RI Programs staff
About 805 million people around the world are undernourished and do not have access to enough nutritious food to lead healthy, active lives. One in every eight people goes to bed hungry each night, with the majority of undernourished people living in Southern Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Asia. About one third of food produced for human consumption goes to waste. [i]
To help combat hunger and malnutrition, earlier this year Rotary International renewed our service partnership with The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN), a global non-profit organization dedicated to alleviating world hunger through food banking. By working with partners like GFN who have long-standing expertise in providing secure access to food, we help address these concerns in communities around the world. This year:
Lebanon: Four local clubs helped the Lebanese Food Bank secure a new vehicle that enables to food bank to continue distributing food to food banks throughout the region.- India: The India FoodBanking Network worked with local clubs and partnering organizations to host a large-scale food drive in 11 cities. More than 180,000 meals were distributed to low income families and orphan homes after the week-long collection effort.
Argentina: The Rotary Club of Rio de la Plata, Argentina, generously donated 20 freezers to the Fundación Banco de Alimentos, GFN’s local affiliate. The new equipment will help preserve perishable products at various food banks throughout the region.
Through our partnerships with food pantries, community centers, food banks, food producers, and other organizations, we’re helping eliminate food deserts, repurposing nutritious and edible food, and empowering communities to find sustainable solutions to combat hunger and malnutrition. For more information about the Rotary-GFN partnership, read this one page overview and contact GFN to connect with a local food bank near you.
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Related:
- World Food Day 2014: Feeding the World. Caring for the Earth
- Watch a recording of the Join the Global Fight Against Hunger and Malnutrition webinar
- Rotary: No child should ever go to bed hungry
- Rotarian-built network eliminates food waste, feeds hungry neighbors
[i] The State of Food Insecurity in the World, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2014
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