President Cha of the Korea National Council on Social Welfare (SSN) visited Second Harvest Asia (2HA)’s sister organization, Second Harvest Japan (2HJ), on May 12. President Cha shared his experience of creating a food banking network in Korea and the importance of the government being involved in the process. We look forward to continuing our relationship and learning from Korea.
South Korea has an advanced national food bank system. SSN started food banking in January 1998 in response to the IMF crisis. They currently have 16 metropolitan-level food banks, 279 local-level food banks, and 127 food markets in the country.
You can read the detailed report by 2HA Chair Charles McJilton here.
Second Harvest Asia will develop the regional food bank network in Asia to share best practices and experiences with other food banks. We hold online meetings regularly with Asian food bank members. If you are interested in joining our regional network, please contact us at info@secondharvestasia.org.