Jacques Vandenschrik, President of the European Food Banks Federation, interviewed by CNN on 29 December 2020.
As COVID-19 spread across Europe, we committed to fulfil our mission – preventing food waste and reducing food insecurity in Europe – and in 2020 our work focused on the devastating effects of the pandemic.
Our members tirelessly worked facing the challenge not just to rescue increased quantities of surplus food from the food supply chain, resulting in higher operating costs, but also ensure its safe redistribution to charities helping a growing number of people in need across Europe.
We are enormously grateful to our members and partners. They make all our efforts possible. There is still so much uncertainty that lies ahead but we have never been more certain of the urgency of our mission and of our network’s commitment to fulfilling it.
Together we can continue to save good food and redistribute it to charities for people who need it the most.
of redistributed food
compared to the
pre-COVID levels
in need of food assistance
compared to the
pre-COVID levels
Since the beginning of the pandemic FEBA has released 5 reports to tell the story of European Food Banks, highlighting challenges, urgent needs and their concrete response to prevent food waste and support charities helping people in need.
FEBA members have daily worked to ensure with dedication, professionalism, and spirit of adaptation a safe and fast redistribution of food, preventing tonnes of food from becoming waste while supporting charities helping people in need.
Just in 2020, FEBA members recovered, collected, sorted, stored, and redistributed 860,000 tonnes of food (+12% compared to pre-COVID levels) to support 48,126 charitable organisations helping 12.8 million people in need (+34.7% increase compared to pre-COVID levels).
As the situation is coming back to a ‘new normal’ and many restrictions have been lifted, the social and economic consequences of COVID-19 are still present. European Food Banks and Food Bankers continue to play their role as reliable partner to foster the resilience of the food supply chain and to help charities feeding those in need. FEBA is committed to support its members in this unprecedented period.
In 2022, the consequences of COVID-19 continued to put pressure on the daily activity of FEBA Members: the 351 Food Banks belonging to our membership redistributed 876,316 tonnes of food to 44,884 charitable organisations providing food assistance to 12.4 million most deprived people.
The European Food Banks Federation (FEBA) is a European non-profit organization and works in collaboration with 24 Full Members and 6 Associate Members in 30 European countries.
For almost 35 years, FEBA mission has consisted in representing its membership at European and international level, supporting and strengthening Food Banks in Europe by providing training, sharing best practice and knowledge, and developing partnerships, and fostering the creation of new Food Banks.
FEBA brings together 351 Food Banks and branches which are committed to fight against food waste and to feed the most deprived. In 2022, our members redistributed 876,316 tonnes of food to 12.4 million most deprived people through 44,448 charitable organisations thanks to the professionalism of 97,940 co-workers (93% volunteers).
In addition to surplus food from the food supply chain, FEBA members also redistribute food from the Fund for European Aid to the most Deprived (FEAD) and the Fruits and Vegetables withdrawal scheme, as well as from individual donations.
