The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by the United Nations in 2015. At the heart of this agenda are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which lay out the blueprint for the international community to achieve peace and prosperity for people and the planet.
The SDGs tackle a wide range of global issues, from poverty and education, to health and education. All SDGs are interconnected – progress in one area requires progress in another. And with less than a decade left to achieve this Agenda, progress is sorely lacking across all SDGs.
Food banks are uniquely positioned to address SDG 2, Zero Hunger, and SDG 12, Responsible Consumption and Production, specifically Target 12.3, which calls for halving per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reducing food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses, by 2030.
However, food banking’s impact does not end with SDGs 2 and 12.
Food banks advance progress across all SDGs.
Although food banks are most closely associated with SDGs 2 and 12, they are also critical partners across the SDGs. Here are just a few examples: