Food banks know how to address hunger and food waste in their communities — and they also know that lasting change requires action across the entire food system.
The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN) moves this important work forward by partnering with member food banks, policymakers and businesses around the world to drive systemic solutions that expand access to nutritious food while reducing food loss and waste.
Here are three specific ways GFN helps transform the food system for people and the planet.
Food banking reduces hunger, cuts emissions and strengthens communities — but until recently, there was limited data to fully measure and communicate those benefits. GFN is helping change that by improving how food banks collect and use data.
In 2024, GFN introduced the Metodología FRAME, a new approach to measuring the environmental and social impacts of food banking. FRAME more accurately captures greenhouse gas emissions avoided, particularly methane, while also documenting reductions in food loss and waste, improvements in food access and other co-benefits. The methodology was piloted in Ecuador and Mexico, and it expanded further in 2025 — to food banks in Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Paraguay, South Africa and Thailand.
GFN is also advancing research on the broader benefits of food banking. Through its social return on investment work, GFN found that every $1 invested in food banks generates $4 to $7 in long-term social benefits, including avoided malnutrition and chronic disease. Future research will explore environmental and gender-related impacts, further strengthening the case for food banking as a high-impact investment.
Public support for action on food loss and waste is growing, but policy frameworks often lag behind. In many countries, outdated or inconsistent laws limit food donation and slow progress toward reducing food loss and waste.
GFN works with partners to support government policies that create clear incentives for food recovery and redistribution. Since 2019, GFN has partnered with Harvard Law School’s Food Law and Policy Clinic to develop Él Atlas de Políticas Globales de Donación de Alimentos, which analyzes food loss and waste policies across countries and highlights barriers and opportunities for action.
Since the Atlas launched, more than 24 countries have introduced or strengthened food loss and waste laws. The next phase of this work will expand analysis to additional countries and a broader range of food system policies, helping governments close the gap between surplus food and food insecurity — work that ultimately paves the way for more effective and efficient food donation from businesses and other organizations.
Businesses play a critical role in shaping the global food system. From production and retail to logistics and nutrition, companies influence how food moves — or doesn’t move — through supply chains.
GFN partners with more than 100 global and regional companies, as well as countless local producers, to help businesses donate more surplus food safely and efficiently. GFN provides technical expertise, helps minimize legal risk and connects companies with trusted food banks that can distribute food to people who need it.
By supporting companies that want to reduce waste and expand food access, GFN helps align business practices with hunger alleviation and climate goals, community needs and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Transforming the food system requires coordinated action across sectors. GFN’s global perspective, combined with the local leadership and expertise of food banks, positions the network to drive meaningful change at scale.
With continued support, GFN can strengthen the evidence base for food banking, advance smarter policies and deepen partnerships with businesses committed to alleviating hunger and reducing waste. Together, these efforts move us closer to a food system that works as it should — nourishing people and the planet together.
To learn more about how you can support this work, contact Vicki Clarke at vclarke@foodbanking.org.
