After working for three years with the Clinton Global Initiative, AMR Research saw the need for a library of information and best practices on how to meet the needs of a diverse global populace. It committed to building a repository of case studies from past participants in the Initiative to help guide others through their commitments. The first of those case studies on the Global FoodBanking Network (GFN) is now available.

GFN has spent the past three years bringing the food banking model to the world. "Food banking is a very practical solution that delivers tangible results," says David Prendergast, president and CEO. He said his organization has found success by engaging locally to create a sustainable network.

One key resource of that network is participants' supply chain. Nearly all companies, regardless of how well they respond to demand signals or how efficient their supply chains are, have excess inventory with which they need to deal. Food banking offers an outlet for these scenarios:

• Product expiring-Products that are approaching expiration won't likely make it to shelves or homes in time. But that date doesn't mean the product goes bad; it has a safe life beyond the expiration. Food banks learn what the use-by date is and work within that window to put that product to use for those in need.
• Relabeling-A merger or marketing change often calls for a package redesign, but what about all that product in the stream that's still got the old design? Companies need to pull that from the retail channel, and food banking gives them an outlet that builds good will in the community.
• Failed product introductions-The rate of new product introduction has accelerated the past 10 years, and so have failures, AMR Research's data shows. In the food world, these failures may have more to do with marketing than product quality. Food banking can still make use of that food, regardless of how it resonated with consumers.

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