COVID-19 has increased food insecurity to its highest levels in decades. Locally-led food banks around the world are effectively tackling hunger and strengthening communities through their leaderships, partnership capacity, and reach. The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN) represents a lynchpin in this crisis, helping frontline food banks respond to immediate needs while powering a community-driven response that builds resilience for the future.
GFN supports locally-led food banks in 40+ countries, the majority of which are based in resource-scarce communities. We offer expertise, resources, and connections that dramatically increase efficiency, assure safety, and catalyze scale—providing hunger relief now and building resilient communities tomorrow.
In response to the pandemic, GFN has:
- Invested 19,000 hours of technical assistance and programming activity.
- Distributed 1.1 billion kilos of food.*
- Served 27.6 million people, up from 16.9 million during all of 2019.*
- More than doubled the number of partnerships with multinational food
companies—now with 68 partners for sourcing food and grocery products.
OUR APPROACH
SCALE WHERE CAPACITY IS STRONG
SCALE
On average, food banks are serving nearly 200,000 more people regularly than prior to COVID-19. GFN provides operational and grant support to help food banks scale to meet increased demand and expand their reach to new populations.
EMPOWER LEADERS WHERE RELIEF IS NEEDED
EMPOWER
In the face of severe hunger made worse by COVID-19, GFN empowers visionary leaders who have boldly stepped forward to initiate and scale food banks through investments in basic infrastructure, knowledge, and skill building.
PROTECTCHILDREN IN CRITICAL NEED
PROTECT
Children have been disproportionately affected by this global health and economic crisis. Through targeted grant funding, specialized guidance, and technical support, GFN is helping food banks meet the needs of children who are missing meals due to school closures.
ACCELERATE RESILIENCE THROUGH NUTRITIOUS FOOD
ACCELERATE
COVID-19 has caused significant disruptions to the global food supply chain. GFN is securing the supply chain of nutritious food for families in need by expanding relationships with local food growers, and regional and global companies.
Stories from the frontline
Vicki Clarke, Ph.D., Vice President of Development
+1.312.757.2220 | vclarke@foodbanking.org
