User:Yaydnew/Food distribution

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Food distribution is the process where a general population is supplied with food. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) considers food distribution as a subset of the food system. The process and methodology behind food distribution varies by location. Food distribution has been a defining characteristic of human behavior in all societies, and recordings of food distribution date back for thousands of years. Most governments and societies are highly shaped by the systems created to support food distribution.

There are a multitude of risk factors that can affect food distribution. War, economic failure, political problems, and weather conditions all play a role in determining the efficiency of any food system. Two recent examples of war and economic failure impacting food distribution includes the decline of food distribution in Japan during World War II and food recession in Sub-Saharan Africa during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In both cases, food distribution was hindered and the population in these areas consequently suffered.

Special organizations exist today to prevent any total collapses in food distribution, assist in developing food distribution and food systems in underdeveloped areas, and respond to food distribution crises. At the international level, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) plays a key role in facilitating the growth of food distribution systems all over the world. At the national level different countries have developed more complex support systems; by example, a mixture of federal, non-profit, and volunteer organizations function in the United States to safeguard the well-being of the US food distribution system. Within the United States, there is an issue of food insecurity where food distribution is one of the key solutions to target food insecurity. This creates a "food bank industry" where many organizations use tactics of business and trade skills within the food distribution sector to give food to communities that are in need.

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Volunteer and local[edit]

An American Red Cross volunteer explains a program to people visiting their display during FEMA's Hurricane Awareness Day. Groups like FEMA, the USDA, and the Salvation Army could not operate without help from volunteers and small nonprofit groups. Prominent contributors to local food disaster efforts include groups like Emergency Communities and the American Rainbow Rapid Response (ARRR). These organizations typically focus on supplying rural and lower income areas that do not receive priority from large food distribution groups during a crisis.

Food Distribution and Food Insecurity

Organizations that are founded to target food insecurity have relied on food distribution to serve people in need of regular nutritious foods. Food banks are the proper term to call these kind of organizations where they use "government sector, private sector, and civil society" to distribute and recover food that will ultimately go to waste. In the United States, there are many organizations all over the country that have the same similar goal however, there is not much effective collaboration between all organizations because it is challenging to coordinate efficient communication within one another. There is one large organization that focuses on distributing food to people who need it in the United States, Feeding America has over 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries. There are more organizations that focus on distributing food that work independently and are not as big as Feeding America.