'The package did arrive but by then it was too late’

African food banks under relentless pressure after US cuts

- NICK FERRIS

Food banks across Africa have told The Independent that cuts to foreign aid - primarily those by Donald Trump in the US, but including the UK - are helping to significantly drive up the number of people needing their help, therefore reducing the amount of supplies they can hand out.

Food Forward South Africa said that demand for its food services has soared since the start of the year and is expected to increase further still as grants from USAID run out in the coming months, while Food Banking Kenya has revealed that demand is up 300 per cent this year, far outstripping what they are able to provide. In Nigeria, the Lagos Food Bank is another that is expecting shortages thanks to US aid cuts.

“The numbers we are seeing this year are absolutely huge. We thought numbers were big in other years, but this is completely unimaginable,” says John Gathungu, CEO of Food Banking Kenya. “We are doing all we can to restrain people and discourage them from collecting food from us.”

Food Banking Kenya also partners with the Kenyan Red Cross, another organisation impacted by aid cuts, which runs health and ambulance services around the country. The food bank is working to help with food deliveries that the Red Cross is unable to completely support - but is nonetheless struggling to meet demand, which has led to tragic consequences.