Food banks: “keep donating, because the demand is increasing”
First there was covid-19: “Then we could benefit from that as a food bank. The companies had leftover products, and we got them. But then they adjusted their production process and produced on the basis of orders, so there are fewer surpluses.” says Claudette Haverbeke of Food Bank West Flanders.
Energy crisis
Then there was the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis that followed. The food bank also made an appeal last yearbut the problem is getting bigger, they notice at the distribution center in Kuurne: “One of our loyal donors still gave us 16 palettes of his product every six weeks, now that’s only 2 or 3 palettes. A serious difference.”
More question
And that is a major concern, because – because life has become more expensive – more people are affiliated with the OCMW and therefore more people are calling on the food bank.
“Compared to ten years ago, that is certainly double. At the beginning of 2022 we still had 17,500 beneficiaries, now we have risen to 20,000,” says Claudette.
European support
Support from the European Community is also in danger of being drastically reduced. “Europe releases money to have basic products produced by companies especially for the food banks, such as coffee, jam, milk, canned goods… But we see that money decrease year after year. Add to that the fact that the products are also simply more expensive, which means that we get less.”
Food bank West Flanders therefore calls on companies to donate surpluses instead of destroying them, because the latter also costs money.