EFB ranks first in world food banks

The Manager of the village development project at the Egyptian Food Bank(EFB), Sherine Aql, said that hunger is an affront to dignity and everyone has the right to adequate food, which requires the concerted efforts of all concerned to solve the problem of hunger.
 
Aql stressed the need to rely on projects, practical initiatives and sustainable programs to feed those who are unable to work, and to educate the community not to waste food, pointed out this is what is happening in the food bank, which is a professional system based on research, studies, partnerships and the development of resources to reach the elimination of hunger, which hampers the development of the individual and society.

Aql added that the poorer and needy villages are being identified by obtaining the necessary information from all governorates of Egypt, which nominates a number of poor villages.

She explained that the idea of the EFB, began through some of the businessmen who have decided to carry out their responsibilities towards the community through professional scientific method to eliminate the hunger.

"The main focus of the Bank's management is the distribution of food, both in monthly form, or in seasonal form, in cooperation with some associations, explaining that winter in particular needs to particular preparations, such as supplying poor villages with blankets," Aql said.

"EFB ranks first among the food banks worldwide, and has become a reference for Africa, Asia and some South American countries that request the programs that are applied in Egypt to follow them," Aql stated, pointing out that the bank has helped in establishing 11 food banks in 11 Arab countries in recent years, and these branches are managed through Dubai representative office.

At the local level, Aql pointed to the existence of more than one project of EFB, such as Bank Al-Shifa, Bank Alkasa, as well as many other entities of the bank.

"We started working inside the bank in the mega project to develop poor villages since 2012, Aql indicated, adding that the idea of the project is based on the development of all the poor and most needy villages in stages, in cooperation with some success partners. "We rely on the development triangle, which represented in civil society, the government sector and businessmen to develop these villages," she added.

"There is a project for developing 100 villages during 10 years, and 23 village of them was developed until now," Aql said.

Aql added that the budget allocated to the poor villages development project amounted to 14 million pounds annually, which is distributed among the development of schools, health units and clinics.

Regarding the most important problems facing the bank during the work, she added that the lack of cooperation of some NGOs seriously with the bank in the development process, which hinders the work process, is the most important problem.