Company Announcement - It is easy to forget about those in need at a time where abundant celebration is top of mind. Poor food distribution is one of the key causes of global hunger, according to experts, who also blame high food prices and the unequal distribution of resources. According to the CSIR, globally between 30-50% of food produced is wasted before it reaches consumers. “This also results in environmental impacts throughout the supply chain, as well as the waste of resources used in food production and distribution,” says Claire Bloom, ex US Navy officer, and Founder and Executive Director of End 68 Hours of Hunger, a US-based non-profit organisation that fights childhood hunger. Bloom will present a workshop on Ending Childhood Hunger at the SAPICS 2015* conference, taking place from 31 May - 2 June at Sun City.

It is estimated that South Africa generates over 9 million tonnes of food waste per year, a sobering thought when one considers that roughly 14% of children in SA suffer from hunger. “19% of South African children have no breakfast, and 51% have no lunch.  800,000 of these children are under five, and the malnutrition they experience has a profound impact on their future.  When children are hungry, they cannot learn, and if they cannot learn, they cannot master the information and skills they are taught in school,” says Bloom.

According to Bloom, several organisations are making progress in combating childhood hunger, however, much more is needed. “The ‘much-more’ relates in great part to communities and companies partnering to assess the scale of the problem in their area and then working together to see it solved. It’s possible – and we can do it!” she says.

After retiring in 1998 from the United States Navy following a very successful tour as the first woman to be the Second In Command of USS Constitution, Bloom established a feeding programme in New Hampshire (USA) in 2011. The programme puts nourishing food in the hands of primary school children to carry them through the weekend – 68 hours of hunger that some children experience between the free lunch they receive in school on Friday and the breakfast they receive in school on Monday morning.

Volunteers at Bloom’s organisation buy the food, pack the bags and deliver them to the offices of the selected primary schools. From there, a school employee delivers the food to the classrooms of the individual participating students. The students take the food home on Friday afternoon and the cycle begins again the following week. Each bag of food provides two breakfasts, two lunches and three dinners for a child, with some left over to share.

“In South Africa in particular, childhood hunger – or food insecurity – is a national problem. After a while, children who receive insufficient food on a regular basis or miss entire meals, experience ‘fear of hunger’, which affects their behaviour as much as physical hunger affects their bodies,” she says.

Bloom’s organisation currently feeds around 1000 children weekly in 34 towns. “We have a model that works well and there’s no reason that some of the key principles cannot be adopted and applied to the South African context to great effect,” she adds.

Bloom’s presentation at SAPICS 2015 will focus on the impact of the food insecurity problem in South Africa, what is currently being done, as well as what conference attendees themselves can do to help.