Reducing Food Loss and Waste to Unlock Climate-Positive Development Pathways

Thanks to our partnership with the Global Food Banking Network (GFN) and funding from the Global Methane Hub (GMH), FoodFoward-SA (FFSA) will be piloting a new methodology, creating an evidence base for food banking as a solution to environmental sustainability and hunger.

Managing food loss and waste is a critical solution to food insecurity and environmental degradation, but until recently, there has been limited data to justify its priority compared to other climate change interventions. GFN has developed two groundbreaking tools to help food banks measure and understand their broader social and environmental impact. In 2024, GFN introduced a methodology to track the CO2e emissions and methane avoided by food banks, as well as their role in reducing food loss, improving food access, and addressing food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty. This data-driven approach not only rigorously documents the environmental and social impacts of food banking but also helps organizations optimize their operations and plan for the future with greater precision. The methodology was first tested in Mexico and Ecuador, where it provided valuable insights and climate-positive outcomes.

GFN is now expanding this pilot to Africa and Asia, with plans to scale it across its global network, helping food banks improve data collection and measure their environmental and social impact.

Using food donations to enable climate-positive socio-economic development

In South Africa, more than 10 million tons of mostly edible food is dumped in landfills, which produces a potent greenhouse gas called methane that contributes to climate change. Food loss and waste account for around 10% of greenhouse gas emissions. While we are a food-secure nation at the national level, millions of households can’t afford to buy healthy food, and 29% of our children under 5 years of age are stunted (malnourished).

Reducing food loss and waste is the fastest way to reduce methane emissions and the most cost-effective way to improve access to nutritious meals and provide food for all. ?We work with farmers, retailers, manufacturers, and other food system actors to timeously recover and redistribute edible surplus food to thousands of registered and vetted beneficiary organisations that collectively reach close to 1 million vulnerable people a day.