Global Food Banks Curbed 1.8 Million Metric Tons of Carbon Emissions in 2023 by Reducing Food Waste, Report Finds

In its latest impact report, the Global Foodbanking Network revealed that it provided food and groceries to 40 million people in 45 countries in 2023. The impact of these actions not only helped meet an increase in food relief demand, but it also reduced food waste emissions, avoiding around 1.8 million metric tons of carbon emissions last year.

As Grist reported, the organization was able to rescue food from farms and wholesalers and distribute it to those seeking food relief. According to the report, the network distributed 654 million kilograms of food, or around 1.7 billion meals, in 2023, a 25% increase in food distribution compared to the previous year.

In announcing the results from its annual network survey, the Global Foodbanking Network highlighted the fact that 2023 was Earth’s hottest year ever recorded and emphasized the high number of extreme climate-related events around the world, including wildfires, droughts and floods. 

According to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, humanitarian needs have reached record highs amid climate change and conflict, with one in every 33 people on Earth needing assistance to meet their needs, including hunger.

“The problem is not a shortage of food,” Douglas O’Brien, vice president of programs for the Global Foodbanking Network, wrote in a statement. “Rather it is a lack of affordable access to food for millions of vulnerable people in difficult circumstances who struggled to feed themselves and their families in 2023. But there is hope.”

To meet increasing demand for food relief, food banks looked for new ways to access more food to feed a higher number of people around the world. Food banks were able to form direct partnerships with farmers in order to provide fresh produce to those seeking food relief. This initiative was so successful for the network that fruits and vegetables became the largest volume of food distributed by the Global Foodbanking Network last year.

Further, by partnering with farmers, food banks increased agricultural recovery — or reducing the amount of produce lost on farms or after harvest — by 35% year-over-year, the network found.

Technology also played a more significant role to relieving hunger last year. According to the Global Foodbanking Network, technological initiatives, such as virtual food banks, made up 11% of distribution last year, up from 5% previously. Virtual food banks are able to quickly and directly connect businesses that have extra food products with food banks that can get the surplus food to their communities.

By collecting surplus food and rescuing produce from food loss on farms, food banks were able to feed more people while also mitigating climate-warming emissions. The report found that food banks within the Global Foodbanking Network helped avoid 1.8 million metric tons of emissions from food waste that would likely otherwise go to landfills. That equates to the impact of taking around 400,000 cars off the roads for one year.

O’Brien concluded, “The 2023 Network report shows that community-led food banks bring unique perspectives on the challenge of hunger, innovations such as virtual food banking, skills and capabilities to recover more food, and a wealth of knowledge and local support to the challenge of strengthening resilience, improving food security, and addressing climate change.”