Community-based food bank helps ultra poor people of Kaharole upazila in Dinajpur ensuring their food security and reducing their poverty.
Women of the poor households of Sondoil village at Katharine upazila save a little amount of rice everyday while cooking their daily meals, and at the end of the month, they deposit the rice to the food bank. About 37 households are currently depositing two kilograms of rice each in every month.
The poor households of the village take lend of rice during lean period (Ashshin-Kartik months) when they face acute food crisis due to lack of work. And the families return the rice they lent to the food bank after harvesting of food grains.
Maloti Rani, a mother of three children, said his family faced acute food crisis during last Ashshin-Kartik months as her husband lost his work, forcing her family in trouble.
“Nobody came forward to help us when we were in trouble. I took lend of 20 kilograms of rice from the food bank during the period, which really helped us address our food crisis,” she said.
Maloti said if she takes loan from local lenders to meet food demand during emergency, she will have to pay high interest, which would put extra burden on her family. “As I took lend of rice from the food bank, I do not feel any pressure now,” she added.
Not only Maloti, but a number of poor households of the village lent rice from the food bank this year. Jamuna Rani (30) and Kamol (35) took 20 kilograms of rice each from the food bank while Bhuveneshar Chandra Sarkar lent 40 kilograms of rice as he has more family members.
Depicting the untold sufferings of her family during lean period this year, Jamuna Rani said the food bank has come as blessing for the poor to cope with their food crisis during emergency.
The local community people set up their innovative food bank at Sondoil village and formed Sondoil Shimul Gonosangaton, a community based organisation, in 2013 with support from the Food Security Governance Project. Local NGO Pollisree is implementing the project with financial assistance from European Union and Oxfam. Five food banks have already been set up in Kaharole upazila under the project.
The poor households preserve a specific amount of rice in the food bank to meet food demand in any emergency and additional food grains of the bank they provided is sold in market to create a fund to ensure their financial security.
Pollisree project officer Moinul Haque Bappy said the food bank is not only ensuring food security of poor people living at Sondoil village, but also ensuring their financial security. So, such food bank could be set up across the country to help the rural poor improve their livelihood, he said.