SBM ITB with Food Bank Bandung Holds a Webinar on the Establishment of a Circular and Integrated Food Bank Ecosystem in the City of Bandung

Authors: Miranda Bethseba Gabriela and Muchammad Gumilang Pramuwidayatama

Bandung, 20 March 2021 – School of Business and Management, Bandung Institute of Technology (SBM-ITB) and Food Bank Bandung (Yayasan Access Mandiri Pangan) through a community service program supported by the Institute for Research and Community Service ITB (LPPM-ITB) held a webinar for the general public entitled “Building a Circular and Integrated Food Bank Ecosystem: The Role of Industry, Academics, and Food Banks“.

Food bank is a non-profit organization that aims to improve food security for underprivileged communities by redistributing excess food/products (surplus food) whose food quality and safety are still fit for consumption (Foodbanking.org ). A study from the Economic Intelligence Unit (2018) reports that the amount of food lost and wasted (food loss and waste) in Indonesia is around 300 kg per capita per year. On the one hand, there is still a problem of food insecurity in large urban areas in Indonesia. The problem of food insecurity has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, so the role of the food bank has become even more important during this pandemic. However, the concept and role of food bank has not been widely known by the public and industry. Therefore, this webinar was held to introduce the food bank scheme as one of the important actors in a circular and sustainable urban food system (urban food system) to bridge the problem of food insecurity. and excess food is one of the crucial problems in Indonesia. Then, this webinar also aims to explain the role of academia and industry in developing a circular and integrated food bank.

This webinar presents three speakers, namely Gendis Ayu Satiti Irawan, M.Sc. (Gendis) from Food Bank Bandung, Dr. N. Nurlalela Arief (Bu Lala) from SBM-ITB, and Dr. Raden Dikky Indrawan (Pak Dikky) from the Business School – IPB University. The webinar was opened with an explanation of the community service program “Food For Life-Sharing is a Solution” by Emilia Fitriana Dewi, MBA as the head of the community service program which was carried out with Food Bank Bandung in Kampung Empang and Empang Pojok, Mekarjaya Village, Bandung City.

Gendis from Food Bank Bandung explained in general about the food bank concept which has been implemented in more than 44 countries as well as Food Bank Bandung activities. Gendis also explained that the role of food producers is very important in realizing the vision and mission of food banks in various parts of the world. Furthermore, Dr. N. Nurlaela Arief or who is familiarly called Bu Lala explained that companies need to increase their social and environmental responsibilities to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs). Mrs. Lala also emphasized that carrying out social and environmental responsibility can be beneficial for the sustainability of the company in the long term, and this can also be done by the food industry, one of which is by collaborating with food banks in managing surplus products in order to reduce sustainable storage and disposal costs. The last resource person, Dr. Raden Dikky Indrawan, explained about the problem of food insecurity (food insecurity) and the position of food bank in a circular food system. Pak Dikky said that the food bank needs to become an organization that not only redistributes excess food, but also becomes an organization that can provide added value to the community by distributing nutritious food, empowering the community, and being responsible for the impact it has. to the environment from the results of the food bank’s activities. Dikky added that to develop an integrated and circular food bank requires strong support from academics through community service programs and research on food banks as well as industry commitment to reuse surplus product.

The webinar was closed with a question and answer session from participants consisting of the general public, food bank activists, the SBM-ITB community, and members of the Bandung Food Bank.
About Food for life – Sharing is a Solution

Food for life is a community service program from LPPM-ITB carried out by SBM-ITB and Food Bank Bandung. This program aims to develop a circular and integrated food bank model in order to increase added value in Food Bank Bandung activities in carrying out their activities in Empang and Pojok Villages, Mekarjaya Village, Bandung City. The Food for Life program is chaired by Emilia Fitriana Dewi and consists of three SBM-ITB lecturers (Kurnia Fajar Afgani, Dematria Pringgabayu, and Muchammad Gumilang Pramuwidyatama) and one SBM-ITB student (Miranda Bethseba Gabriela – SBM-ITB class 2023).

Media Contact
foodbankbandung@gmail.com
+62 859 5644 5599

Webinar Material: FBBxSBMITB Webinar Material