European Food Banks are a critical lifeline to promote access to food

Impact of the socio-economic crisis on FEBA Members

assessment january-december 2022

The cost-of-living crisis with rising inflation, the conflict in Ukraine, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and climate change-related events, are deeply affecting people’s access to food and increasing the number of people experiencing food insecurity. In this context, Food Banks continue to be a critical lifeline in preventing food waste and providing safe and edible food to charities helping people in need.

The European Food Banks Federation (FEBA) analysed the impact of the challenging socio-economic circumstances on FEBA Members by giving evidence-based insights into the repercussions of the cost-of-living crisis, on the one hand, on the operations of Food Banks and, on the other hand, on the profile of end beneficiaries supported through charitable organisations.

The results are based on the experience of FEBA Members working daily to recover, collect, and redistribute food1 to a network of charitable organisations providing food assistance to people in need, including quantitative and qualitative research carried out among members in March 2023. The gathered information refers to the period from January to December 2022 and is based on a tailored survey replied to by 27 FEBA Members. 2

 

  1. In addition to surplus food from the food supply chain, FEBA Members also redistribute food from EU and/or national programmes such as the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) and REACT-EU, the EU Fruits and Vegetables withdrawal scheme, as well as from individual and corporate food collections.
  2. No replies have been received from FEBA Members in Malta, Poland, and Slovakia.

 

 

Impact of cost-of-living crisis on daily activities: a major concern for 88.9% of European Food Banks

0 %

of FEBA Members, the cost-of-living crisis is at the forefront of factors strongly affecting daily activities.

European Food Banks are doing everything they can to source more food, but it is not enough to satisfy the raising demand from charities

0 %

of respondents (14 out of 27 FEBA Members) declare that the total quantity of surplus food recovered from the food supply chain increased.

0 %
indicate that the surplus food quantity donated by companies in the distribution sector, e.g. wholesalers or supermarkets, shrank.
0 %
of the respondents (23 out of 27) mentioned that the charitable organisations across Europe are asking for an increase in the food quantities.

Donations to European Food Banks cannot keep up with spiralling costs of daily activities

0 %

of the respondents (four in five) declared that the costs of running the Food Bank increased in comparison to 2021.

Electricity, fuel for vehicles and gas were the three cost categories for which the highest increase was felt.

A new group at risk: gainfully employed persons who cannot make ends meet due to the ongoing pressures of the cost-of-living crisis

0 %
Food Banks note that from the requests of the charitable organisations they provided with food the socio-economic crisis led to an increase in end beneficiaries, varying across Europe between a small single-digit percentage and a doubling of the number.
0 %
of the respondents notice a change regarding the employment status of the end beneficiaries compared to 2021