Increased requests for support for food banks also affected operations such as rising electricity bills

Amid the continuing impact of high prices, NHK interviewed 20 food banks that provide food assistance to needy households, etc., and found that 16 organizations reported an increase in requests for assistance, while 12 organizations reported an increase in electricity bills. have been found to have an impact on operations.

The National Food Bank Promotion Council says, ``Many organizations are worried about how to bear the running costs necessary for support.''

Food banks are organizations that provide food assistance to families in need, and NHK interviewed 20 organizations in the Kanto and Kinki regions that are members of the National Food Bank Promotion Council.

As a result, 16 organizations received more requests for support last year than the previous year, when the impact of high prices became more serious.

Of these, food banks in Nara Prefecture supported 950 households last month, an increase of 200 households compared to the previous year. It means that a lot of voices are heard.

In addition, more than half of the 12 organizations answered that the cost of transporting and managing relief supplies was increasing due to rising prices for electricity and gasoline, and was putting pressure on their operations.

Of these, the food bank in Kanagawa Prefecture is currently working without an air conditioner in the office because the electricity bill has nearly doubled in the summer, such as refrigerators that store food.

At a food bank in Wakayama Prefecture, electricity costs rose by about 50,000 yen a month due to the use of refrigerators, etc., and the cost of gasoline for distributing supplies also increased, so the costs of volunteers taking out food are increasing. .

Hiroaki Yoneyama, representative director of the National Food Bank Promotion Council, said, "Many organizations are worried about how to bear the running costs necessary for support. It is said that we have already reached the limit we can support. I can say it," he said with a sense of crisis.

Support with a public refrigerator "Community Fridge"

An initiative called "Community Fridge," a public refrigerator that uses food that has been discarded due to its expiration date to support needy families, is spreading nationwide.

Among them, in Soka City, Saitama Prefecture, the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry has installed a large public refrigerator on the premises of a supermarket in the city since June last year.

Here, food processing companies and retailers in the city bring in food that has been discarded as the expiration date is approaching.

And about 450 families who have pre-registered and are receiving child support or school assistance will be able to receive the stored food for free.

Public refrigerators are unattended so that users can receive them without worrying about prying eyes, and users can enter inside with an electronic key received in advance and visit at any time 24 hours a day.

On this day, the first day of the new year, the manager of the adjacent supermarket was bringing unsold rice cakes, natto and tofu that were about to expire, into the refrigerator.

About 20 groups of people visit this public refrigerator every day. A notebook placed by the refrigerator reads, "My wife is sick, and I am preparing meals for the children, but there is not enough to eat." There are 3 of us, and we are very grateful for the high prices." Or, "Utilities and food costs have risen considerably, so we couldn't prepare New Year's dishes, so we are very grateful." increase.

On this day as well, there were families visiting with their parents, and a second-year junior high school boy from Saitama City who visited with his mother in his 40s said, "Normally, even if I'm hungry, I like it." I'm not sure if I should just eat it, but today I got mochi and rice, so I'll eat it as soon as I get home.I'm looking forward to it."

According to an organization that was first established in Okayama Prefecture two years ago, this public refrigerator has the advantage of reducing the cost of food disposal, in addition to contributing to society for companies. It means that it spreads all over the place.

Mr. Zenki Ueda, who runs a supermarket with public refrigerators and is the chairman of the Soka Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Youth Division, said, ``Some things are only a day away from their expiration date, but tomorrow the supermarket will be closed, so I will throw them away. I have no choice but to bring it in. People can come and pick it up anytime, so I'm happy to be able to hand over food that's close to its expiration date and can't be donated to the food bank."

Leave of absence due to the aftereffects of the new corona Single mother

A 43-year-old single mother who uses Community Fridge, a public refrigerator, said her growing children appreciate the help in the face of rising prices.

A woman works at a supermarket while raising her two sons, who are in the first and third grades of elementary school.

However, she has been suffering from symptoms such as malaise and headaches since she was infected with the new coronavirus in January last year.

The woman took a leave of absence from work at the supermarket due to the infection and returned to work, but her symptoms worsened, so she took a leave of absence again in December last year. I continue to take 24 pills.

She currently has no income from her job, and she lives on sickness allowance and child rearing allowance. It means that

Since I can't take my children to theme parks, if there are decorations for events such as Halloween at the supermarket in my neighborhood, I take pictures in front of them and enjoy the atmosphere.

The woman said, "I didn't think it would be an after-effect of the corona virus, and I didn't think I would suffer this much. When I thought it was going to be tough financially, I was faced with soaring prices, and I'm sorry I had to put up with my child. It's full of negligence," he said.

Under these circumstances, being able to eat what we have received from a public refrigerator is a blessing for growing children and a relief from their painful feelings.

I couldn't go to a special place during the year-end and New Year holidays, but I ate donated chestnuts with my children.

My eldest son wrote in a notebook in the public refrigerator, "I'm enjoying ginger with chestnuts. Thank you. Grade 3."

The woman said, ``If it wasn't for this place, I would have put up with what my child wanted to eat, but my child was delighted and would eat it at home. I think the joy of being able to be there is passed on to children," he said.

Continuing donation of vegetables with short expiration dates Nationwide first demonstration experiment

Last month, the country's first demonstration experiment to continuously donate a large amount of vegetables to those who need them by devising a logistics method for vegetables with a short expiration date, which has been considered difficult to donate. Starting from

The demonstration experiment was started by a company in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, in cooperation with an agricultural cooperative in Kanagawa Prefecture. We will make effective use of vegetables that have been discarded in production areas for reasons such as

These vegetables are transported to the market together with the vegetables that are shipped as usual, stored in warehouses, and provided to children's cafeterias and food banks as needed.

Farmers can reduce the amount of discarded vegetables, and there is no additional distribution cost. Children's cafeterias and food banks can receive fresh vegetables with high nutritional value.

On the first day of the 25th of last month, Shinichi Iijima (66), a farmer belonging to the Miura City Agricultural Cooperative in Kanagawa Prefecture, harvested about 3,500 kilograms of radishes grown in the field and packed them in boxes.

Of these, 500 kilograms, which had been discarded so far because they were too large for the normal size, will be used for donations this time.

Mr. Iijima said, ``I am very sorry to throw it away as a producer, so I want you to eat as many as possible.I am grateful to be able to cooperate in this way.''

After that, the boxed radishes were transported to the warehouse of the agricultural cooperative along with the regular radishes to be shipped.

The next day, they were transported to the market in Setagaya Ward along with the usual amount of vegetables, and then distributed to children's cafeterias in various places by the person in charge of the company.

At the children's cafeteria in Setagaya Ward, the children who received the daikon radish immediately worked with the staff to prepare the food, and happily ate the radish mochi and tempura that were made.

The representative of the NPO that runs the Children's Cafeteria said, "The amount of donations has been very low, and the activity itself is very difficult, so I'm really moved and happy."

At the Miura City Agricultural Cooperative, about 2,000 tons of daikon radish were discarded a year ago, but until now, the children's cafeteria has been unable to accept a large amount at once, so donations have been limited to a portion.

However, in the demonstration experiment conducted for several days this time, 31 tons were donated mainly to children's cafeterias in the Tokyo metropolitan area and Nagoya through ordinary markets.

Yuki Kido, the company that planned this initiative, said, "I was really happy that the feelings of the farmers reached the children. I would like to expand the mechanism in the future,” he said.

Expert “At a time when national and local governments must consider support”

Professor Tomio Kobayashi of Japan Women's University, who is familiar with food distribution, said, "I think that people who are barely able to make ends meet have worked hard to make ends meet, but with the sudden rise in prices this time, they are waiting for administrative services. It was very effective to have a system that could quickly extend a helping hand in such a situation.In particular, it was very difficult to donate perishable food due to the problem of freshness, but this is now If we can solve the problem of nutrition, food assistance will have a real effect.”

On top of that, he said, ``In foreign countries such as the United States, when faced with a crisis, there is a system in which the government intervenes, such as purchasing food and distributing it to poor households, but in Japan, the private sector is the center of such efforts. The time has come for the national and local governments to think about how to get involved in support."