India’s Opportunity to Lead G20 Nations in Boosting Food Banking for Global Food Security: Global Food Security Summit, 2023

 India’s Opportunity to Lead G20 Nations in Boosting

Food Banking for Global Food Security: 

Global Food  Security Summit, 2023 

8-9 August 2023, New Delhi

● With the world losing $1.6 billion a year to food loss and waste and about 2.3 billion people in the world today being food insecure, food security is a pressing global issue

● The Global Food Security Summit brought together cross-sectoral stakeholders to drive conversations around holistic solutions to achieve global food security goals.

 During the two day summit held in New Delhi, leading voices in the field have urged G20 nations, under India’s presidency, to embrace food banks as a solution to the pressing issues of food loss and food waste. To drive this narrative forward, The Global Food-Banking Network (GFN) and Think Through Consulting (TTC) hosted the Global Food Security Summit 2023, this week under the aegis of G20 fostering diverse dialogues across sectors to establish sustainable ecosystem and pave the way for ensuring universal access to #FoodForAll

During the summit, experts highlighted the global surge in adopting the food banking model, a crucial link that connects an increasing number of individuals in need with surplus food resources. The event occurred one month ahead of G20 Leader’s summit, where the critical topic of global food challenges is expected. Recent UN data revealed that an additional 122 million people worldwide face food shortages in 2022, underscoring the seriousness of the issue.

Lisa Moon, President and CEO of The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN), emphasized the financial impact of food banking, stating, “Foodbanking addresses two huge challenges, within the global food system. . The First pertains to food loss and waste, with a staggering one third of worldwide food production never reaching people’s tables. This loss occurs throughout the supply chain, from farms to the consumer stage, resulting in significant economic implications – amounting to staggering $1,6 billion annually. The Second challenge is food security, with approximately 2.3 billion people worldwide currently facing food difficulties, and roughly 3 billion unable to afford a nutritious diet. Foodbanking is creating surplus to address both these problems by acting as a logistical expert of food, operating as both as a social enterprise and a nonprofit entity, collaborating with producers across supply chain to save food.”

“Food waste is a global challenge that requires collective efforts from all stakeholders,” said Parul Soni, Global Managing Partner, Think Through Consulting, “We want to work with the producers of food - farmers, corporations, FMCG companies - to get surplus food to foodbanks and process it to reach the underprivileged. Through this Summit, we aim to promote food security and mitigate climate change through the concept of food banking.”

The summit was also about highlighting the opinions of thought leaders within the ecosystem and the work done by changemakers to mitigate food insecurity and the climate crisis. Various High Commissioners, Ambassadors, and Senior Officials of the G20 member countries and nine guest countries invited by India, including Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and UAE, collectively participated to spread awareness and express their viewpoints Multilateral and Bilateral Organizations - World Bank, Asian Development Bank, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and Industry Thought Leaders like Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FKCCI), Invest India, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), among others, had representation in the discussions at the Global Food Security Summit.

Some of the key recommendations were as follows:

Nagendra Nath Sinha, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Steel said, "The issue of food security is too big to be tackled alone. The realization of our nation's challenges becomes feasible only through collaboration between the Private sector, Civic societies, Government, and Corporates. Effective collaboration, rooted in regional focus, dialogue, commitment, and defined roles, is key to addressing the issue of food security,”

Emily M. Broad Lieb, Clinical Professor of Law at Harvard Law School said, “Currently, many different countries are struggling with really trying to figure out how do we get out of the situation of food loss and food waste. A problem that has impact on environment, on people and on the economy. India has been a part of our research to understand the best practices across the world. One of the things that's been going well here is the involvement of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. India’s leadership has been proactive on awareness around food safety perspective, and I believe there are many opportunities here in the country.”

Mr. Mohammed Asif, Executive Director Plan India said, “8 million children are living with extreme hunger worldwide. The reasons occurring are fragility, conflict, supply chain disruptions, climate change recognition, and economic and social challenges faced worldwide, but the most important of them all is the notion of vulnerability.”

Mr. Padmanaban Gopalan, Founder, No Food Waste said, “In a city with a growing population, the amount of food we produce we waste is more than 20%. By mapping surplus food resources like wedding halls, restaurants, retail stores, and supermarkets inside the supply chain and establishing hunger spots for the people who need food on the demand side, we bridge the gap and match demand and supply.”

Nidhi Pundeer, VP, Global CSR, HCL Foundation said, "At the micro level we need to plan and work with the community, self help groups and Mother's groups. Very successful work was done in Nagaland where Mother's groups played a critical role in organising local food, what should people eat, what can be fed to the children."

Raman Chauhan, Founder, Blazen Photonics said, “Today we are seeing food warehouses in the middle of the desert, in the media east. The food we eat on an Emirates airplane is grown at one of their warehouses. With newer technologies and innovation in solar, wind, energy, technology we have the ability to produce energy efficient, healthy, and organic ready locally sourced and produced food across the world. "

Satish Kumar, President and Executive Director, Alliance for an energy efficient economy said, “To feed the entire hungry population of India, we would need 70,000 back houses in the country. Currently, we have just 5000. The private sector needs to work with the Government to build technologies to scale up and be more efficient.”

The global food crisis has been further aggravated by conflicts, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic. This has led to a rapid rise in the cost of food and fertilizers, putting enormous pressure vulnerable and low-income communities. This dire situation demands urgent action, which begins with raising awareness and engaging in open dialogue with all stakeholders. 

Prioritizing food security is one of the main agendas of the country, therefore, it is imperative to comprehend the significance of food banking, which is a pivotal step towards ensuring food security. Furthermore, food safety is also a crucial objective of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.