On 15 July 2020, FEBA organized the Mid-Term Plenary Session of the Data Collection & Digital Transformation project “Quantifying the Impact of European Food Banks – From Farm to Fork”.
The online meeting was open to the entire FEBA membership to take stock of the evolution of the project and inform Full and Associate Members on the work carried out by FEBA, the Pilot Group of 8 Members (Belgium, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Spain, UK), together with external experts. Almost 40 participants from 20 different Food Banks participated in the meeting, including the participation of representatives from DG Health & Food Safety, European Commission and General Mills.
During the Mid-Term Plenary Session, participants had the occasion to have an overview on the entire project, from the beginning in March 2020 till now. Following the launch of the project during the kick-off meeting on 2 March 2020, the first online workshop for the Pilot Group took place with the main objective to identify common indicators, share a standardized and consistent methodology for data collection across Food Banks, and define how to make sense of the information of impact management and measurement. The second online workshop focused on communication and on “make data speak” with the objective of focusing on the value of data for fund/food raising and communication. From this point on, the goal of the project is to identify common indicators on the Food Banks’ impact as regards 4 areas: economic, social, nutritional, and environmental. The third online workshop concentrated on economic indicators.
During the Mid-Term Plenary Session, Dora Szentpaly-Kleis from DG Health and Food Safety (European Commission) reminded participants on how much is important to have a consistent method to collect and share data, first of all for the Food Banks’ daily activity and then also for their external relations, both with public authorities and stakeholders.
Afterwards, Laura Gavinelli explained the development of the project and future steps, and Fabio Fraticelli from TechSoup Italy shared insights about the progresses of the online observatory of food donation.
During the online meeting, members of the Pilot Group had the chance to share their experience, the main challenges and the opportunities for the months ahead.
The Mid-Term Plenary Session was the occasion to inform the entire FEBA membership and external stakeholders and EU Institutions on this challenging project.
Stay tuned for future steps!
