Government has embarked on a new initiative to establish a Food Bank to supplement existing programmes for poverty alleviation.
The Ministry of Social Welfare, Women and Poverty Alleviation has partnered with the Ministry of Health, Vodafone ATH Fiji Foundation and other relevant stakeholders to target beneficiaries in the poorest communities in Fiji through this scheme.
A round table meeting was held last week between the Social Welfare permanent secretary Dr Josefa Koroivueta, Health Minister Dr Neil Sharma and Vodafone ATH Fiji Foundation executive Ambalika Devi Kutty.
Dr Koroivueta said an inter-agency consultation was held to scrutinize plans on developing a Food Bank in Fiji and Government is determined to make this plan a reality.
“As outlined in the Pillar 8 of People’s Charter for Change Peace and Progress, Government is committed on reducing poverty to a negligible level by 2014. Given this overarching vision in mind, the Food Bank initiative would greatly complement this national vision and most importantly it will positively impact the lives of the disadvantaged individuals and families who are living in poverty,” Dr Koroivueta said.
Dr Koroivueta said the Ministry carried out a reform exercise clearly mapped out the areas with high incidence of poverty.
“This will be used for focused targeting of beneficiaries in the poorer of the poor communities in Fiji,” Dr Koroivueta said.
“The food bank initiative will provide hope to families that are living in poverty/. It will promote the physical, spiritual and mental wellbeing for the disadvantaged families to access food items and nurture a healthy living environment. It is a safety net designed to address food security and poverty alleviation in Fiji,” he added.
Health Minister Dr Sharma said, “We see this as a great opportunity to support all those who are in need. We are pleased to work with Ministry of Social Welfare and other stake holders to make this initiative successful."
This week, the Ministries will be meeting with relevant stakeholders such as wholesalers, food processors, manufacturers and other food based organisations and NGO’s to progress the initiative.
There are also plans to mobilise volunteers from the Vodafone ATH Fiji Foundation funded National Volunteer Centres to distribute the food to the poor.
Dr Koroivueta said a warehouse and distribution platform will be scoped to implement this project to ensure best practices and attention to food safety acts are considered within the scope of public health.
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