Food aid, school meals hit hard by COVID-19, soaring prices

Tokyo, Sept. 21 (Jiji Press)–Food banks and school meals in Japan have been hit hard by soaring prices reflecting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the rapidly weakening yen, as well as by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the number of people in need of food aid increases, food banks are looking for more donations.

Food Bank Kanagawa, founded in 2018 and based in Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, collects through donations food products such as those in damaged packaging but without quality problems and provides them free of charge to non-profit organizations.

Amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, however, increasing numbers of people, including students and single-parent households, are seeking food aid, resulting in shortages of food to supply. In addition, the amount of food donated is decreasing mainly due to soaring prices, according to the food bank.

“People are apparently struggling to donate food because they also have to insure their own food in the face of soaring prices,” said Makoto Fujita, 67, head of the food bank’s secretariat. “Being unfamiliar with food banks, some people even throw away their excess food,” he added, suggesting that he wants those people to cooperate in raising more awareness of such a food aid system.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]