Food Banks: New System Should Help Support People’s Needs

Editorial

16:58 JST, February 15, 2026

While some people struggle with rising prices, a significant amount of food goes unsold and ends up being discarded. Efforts should be made to develop a new system in which businesses donate such food and the donations are used to support people in need.

Every year, more than 2 million tons of food is discarded even though it is still edible, including manufactured products that do not meet certain specifications.

Food banks receive such food from businesses and provide it free of charge to the needy and others. There are about 300 food banks nationwide.

A national survey released in 2025 has found nearly 60% of households that responded said they were struggling financially. This likely indicates that prolonged rising prices have impacted household budgets.

It is increasingly important to support people’s food needs — among other factors, there are now more than 12,000 “children’s cafeterias” nationwide, which provide free or low-cost meals to children whose families are struggling financially or who are in other relevant circumstances.

The government has encouraged businesses to donate food to food banks, from the perspective of striking a balance between supporting people in need and reducing food waste. It has also offered tax incentives to businesses that donate food items that were going to be discarded.

However, it is difficult to say these systems have been sufficiently effective.

About 16,000 tons of such food is donated by businesses annually. The figure is only about one-tenth of the amount that food banks need for their support activities. This appears mainly attributable to businesses’ reluctance due to concerns over food poisoning and not knowing where they can donate food.

An expert panel set up by the Consumer Affairs Agency has therefore drawn up plans to launch a new certification system under which the government will certify food banks that can assume the responsibility of handling the transportation, storage and safety management of donated food, among other tasks. This system is scheduled to go into operation in April.

The system is aimed at encouraging food donations by enhancing food banks’ social credibility through the endorsement of the government.

One concern is the complexity of the procedures required to obtain certification.

Food banks must first register their organization’s profile and activities with the central government. In addition, they must meet more than 60 criteria, such as providing information on donated food, hygiene management and insurance coverage to prepare for incidents.

Applications for certification are expected to come mainly from major food banks for the time being, but the number of applications from small and midsize groups will likely increase in the future.

The government needs to increase food donations from businesses by making the new system widely known. It also should create a way to assist food banks with the application procedures through measures such as establishing inquiry desks.

 (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 15, 2026)