Lagos Food Bank seeks tax incentives, govt support

The Executive Director of the Lagos Food Bank Initiative, Michael Sunbola, has urged the federal and state governments to introduce tax incentives and enact legislation that encourages sustained donations to food banks nationwide.

Sunbola made the call on Tuesday at the Global Foodbanking Network regional conference held in Ikeja, Lagos State, where food bank representatives from 11 African countries convened to discuss strategies for strengthening food security and reducing food waste.

He noted that although corporate organisations and individuals had shown remarkable generosity, government involvement remained limited, particularly in terms of policy support.

He said, “The challenge food banking faces is the concept of food banks and the need for the government to understand the role food banks play. The government needs to give tax incentives and legislation that can encourage donations to causes like food banks.

“Also, food banks can be well-positioned to assist the government with supporting those at the front line of hunger. The corporates are responding, and individuals have been so magnanimous. We just need to do more on the side of the government to help us with those legislations.”

Sunbola added that the meeting was designed to deepen conversations on improving food access, curbing food waste, and strengthening collaboration within Africa’s food-banking ecosystem.

He described the gathering as an intensive knowledge-exchange conference that had helped food banks learn, grow, and refine their operations.

Speaking on the broader objectives of the conference, the Europe, Middle East, and Africa Regional Director of the Global Foodbanking Network, Gaby Kafarhire, said the sessions covered a wide range of issues, including governance and partnership development.

“The focus of the conference is to share knowledge about a platter of things, from operational topics to good governance and partnership development. There are 11 food bankers in the room, representing each country,” she said.

Kafarhire explained that the network would take insights from the discussions back to its global partners to help connect African food banks with potential multinational and regional supporters.

“There are similar challenges, such as finding the right person to contact in a company to start a partnership or even introducing the concept of food banking in Africa. So, raising awareness and adapting the concept to the community context is very important,” she added.

Also speaking, the spokesperson for the network, James Fredrick, said the Global Foodbanking Network works with food banks in more than 50 countries, including 11 in Africa.

He stressed that the annual regional conference was crucial for helping food bank coordinators share strategies for recovering surplus food and distributing it to vulnerable populations.

“A lot of challenges food banks face are very similar, even in different countries and different contexts, so these are valuable opportunities for coordinators to share what is working for them, exchange ideas, and support one another,” Fredrick said.

The conference is expected to strengthen collaboration among African food banks and advance advocacy for policies that reduce food waste and improve food distribution to those most in need.