By Caroline Parsons | Associate Director, Major Gifts
Between March and June 2020, GFN-supported food banks provided critical food relief in 51 countries on six continents in response to COVID-19. Food and hygiene products were delivered to an estimated 22+ million people facing hunger, up from 16.9 million pre-crisis. Carefully attuned to the unique needs of vulnerable populations, GFN member food banks launched targeted efforts to reach children who were missing meals at school, daily wagers suddenly left without income, and those at risk of severe illness such as seniors and immune-compromised populations. Thanks to vital support from partners like you, GFN continues to mobilize a humanitarian response that both addresses the immediate crisis and builds critical infrastructure in communities for a more resilient future.
GFN began monitoring the COVID-19 situation in East Asia in January 2020. Food bank members in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, Korea, and Singapore were among those first affected, and responded swiftly and effectively. Their experiences, combined with GFN’s observations of how shutdowns were affecting access to food and other resources, informed the organization’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Plan, which was completed by mid-February. By the end of February, nearly all food banks in the East Asian region faced critical funding and food donation shortfalls and GFN deployed its first round of COVID-19 emergency response grants to affected members.
In early March, GFN formed an international knowledge-sharing hub to allow for quick dissemination of emerging practices specific to providing food relief during the crisis. Strategies were shared throughout the network, including with partners in Europe, the United States, and Japan. By mid-March, GFN had re-programmed budgets and staff resources to focus entirely on COVID-19 relief.
Between March and June 2020, GFN partnered with nearly 50 global companies to expand access to food and fund resources and invested more than US$11m in COVID-19 relief grants. These financial resources, complemented by technical support, enabled food banks to purchase key staples, hire additional staff to cope with rising demand and the loss of volunteers, and expand service to new communities and hard-to-reach populations. During this same period, the GFN network provided meals to an estimated 22+ million people facing hunger. On average, each GFN member food bank served an additional 107,000 people each month through their distribution channels. Most food banks in emerging and developing markets doubled their capacity. Your support helped to make this happen!
Please view the attached report outlining the work that has been done so far, and plans for future relief. Thank you for supporting the global food banking COVID-19 repsonse!
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