European food banks and COVID-19: Resilience and innovation in times of crisis
European food banks and COVID-19: Resilience and innovation in times of crisis
The European Food Banks Federation (FEBA) works on raising awareness about the problems of food waste and poverty, lifting obstacles to food donation for social purposes, and promoting the circular economy.
This research paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the functioning of European food banks and how resilient European food banks were in coping with the pandemic in 2020.
The researchers apply a multiple case study to assess how the first year of the pandemic affected European food banks’ operations and the amount of redistributed food. They further investigate innovation practices that have been developed to cope with the new situation, hoping to draw lessons for imminent future waves of the pandemic and other social crises.