According to The Global FoodBanking Network’s report, entitled ‘The State of Global Food Banking 2018: Nourishing the World,’ advancing the food banking model globally will play a critical role in achieving the UN’s Zero Hunger Sustainable Development Goal.
Beginning on World Food Day (October 16) and running through to Giving Tuesday on November 27, the cereal giant is kicking off a global food drive to donate 1.5 million servings of food to food banks around the world through employee-led meal packing events and food drives, both in person and online.
One of the main intentions of the campaign is to solve for the major issues facing food banks: getting food to the people in need, and making sure food banks have enough of the nutritious food families request most.
The cereal giant is also launching a digital food drive on Amazon, where people can identify a participating food bank and “click, ship and donate” non-perishables to people in need.
Epidemic: Hunger on the rise
Nestlé and Grupo Bimbo fight Latam food waste
Nestlé and Grupo Bimbo have signed up with the #SinDesperdicio (Without Waste) platform led by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
In Latin America and the Caribbean, more than 127m tons of food are wasted annually, which is shocking considering almost 42 million people in the region are acutely undernourished.
"We have to work together to turn the tide for people and the planet. Nestlé is doing its part, including aiming for zero waste for disposal at all our sites by 2020, and fighting food waste together with our suppliers and consumers," said Lauren Freixe, CEO of Zone Americas at Nestlé.
"As founding partners of this platform, we are also taking one more step to fulfil our purpose of contributing to make the world a better place. We commend the IDB for this initiative, and we trust that by joining efforts and synergies, we will all manage to reduce food losses in our region," added Grupo Bimbo's global sustainability manager Alejandra Vázquez, Bimbo's global sustainability manager.
New evidence from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UNFAO) reveals that world hunger is on the rise, with the number of undernourished people now totalling more than 800 million.
One in eight Americans struggle with hunger daily, while more than 850,000 Canadians – more than 36% of which are children – are food insecure and require the services of a food bank each month.
“We know that people expect great-tasting foods from Kellogg. They also expect us to be a responsible corporate citizen,” said Kris Bahner, senior VP, Global Corporate Affairs.
“Kellogg is a company with heart and soul, and we are committed to doing our part to help fight hunger and feed people in need.
“Through this worldwide effort, we can help ensure that not only more food, but the most needed foods, make their way into the homes of hungry families.”
The foods hungry families request the most
According to a survey conducted by The Global FoodBanking Network:
- Canned meat/fish
- Peanut butter
- Shelf-stable milk
- Canned vegetables
- Canned fruits
- Beans
- Pasta, Rice
- Pasta sauce
- Cooking oil
- Cereal
#ZeroHunger
Each year on October 16, the FAO recognizes World Food Day, focusing on efforts to support food security and rural development.
This year's theme – A #ZeroHunger World by 2030 is Possible – encourages collaborations like those between Kellogg and The Global FoodBanking Network and Feeding America to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal to wipe out hunger by 2030.
Fighting food waste
General Mills and Feeding America are continuing their nearly four decades-long partnership to fight food waste and hunger.
According to Feeding America, each year, 40% of food in the US goes to waste.
To tackle this, the organization has devised a national program to rescue surplus food with the help of a food manufacturer's logistics departments.
MealConnect is a technology platform that prevents perfectly good food from going to waste by directing it to Feeding America food banks in real-time.
When truckers finds themselves on the road with surplus food, MealConnect will direct them to find the nearest food bank to ensure the valuable food ends up with families in need, where it can be best used.
It has already facilitated the donation of more than 580,000 pounds of food to the Feeding America network of food banks.
“This program is the definition of innovation,” said Blake Thompson, Feeding America chief supply chain officer.
“We’re rescuing food in an outside-the-box way and that means more meals on the plates of hungry Americans. Everybody wins.”