The European Food Banks Federation is grateful for being appointed as a member organisation of the Expert Group on the European Food Security Crisis preparedness and response Mechanism (EFSCM) of the European Commission for the duration of 5 years.
Following the COVID-19 crisis and as announced in the Farm to Fork Strategy, the EU intends to step up coordination at European level to ensure citizens do not face food shortages during crises. The contingency plan adopted on 12 November 2021 acknowledges the overall resilience of the EU food supply chain, identifies existing shortcomings, and puts forward actions to improve preparedness at EU level. To do this, the European Commission has decided to establish a European Food Security Crisis preparedness and response Mechanism (EFSCM), a group of food supply chain experts coordinated by the European Commission to exchange data, practices and strengthen coordination.
We are willing and committed to bring our expertise and competence acquired thanks to the daily activity of a network of more than 300 European Food Banks to the above-mentioned expert group.
Especially in the currently unforeseen situation where most people have been forced to leave their homes in Ukraine and fleeing to Western countries, we are doing everything in our power to support the critical work of Food Banks in Ukraine, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia, to facilitate the access to food, avoid a food crisis, and respond to urgent food needs.
