food aid

Kristalina Georgieva, who has recently come back from Mali, speaks to Marc Perelman about the need to stabilise the country’s food security situation. Already struggling to cope with several droughts, Malians now face political instability, ethnic tensions and a continuing Islamist threat that have worsened the food crisis.

Each year, 18 million Europeans rely on Europe's food programme to feed themselves. With an annual budget of 500 million euros, the scheme provides food to charities in 20 member states. But they warn that cuts to the EU budget will lead to the end of such programmes. Will there be money left to feed Europe's most vulnerable citizens?

Corruption is well documented in India, but a recently unearthed scam has shown it at its worst. In what has been called the country’s "biggest food heist", $40 billion worth of food was allegedly siphoned off by politicians and sold to private traders. The scam is all the more shocking given India’s struggle with food and nutrition: nearly half the country’s children below the age of five are malnourished, a statistic worse than most sub-Saharan African countries.

With the economic crisis hitting ordinary families in the pocket, more and more are turning to food banks. There, donated groceries help them to survive. 18 million EU citizens now benefit from the aid, but the European Union could soon slash funding that helps provide it. The €500 million budget could soon be reduced to €300 million and four of France's biggest food aid agencies have joined forces to lobby the 27 members states into changing their minds.