Tanksale, A., Dalal, J. orcid.org/0000-0001-5303-8043 and Dubey, N. orcid.org/0000-0002-3607-2853 (2024) Integrated foodbank network design: model and a case study. International Journal of Production Economics, 277. 109385. ISSN 0925-5273
Abstract
To address the UN’s zero hunger goal (SDG 2), scattered and isolated initiatives by nonprofit organizations towards operating foodbanks are generally ineffective in developing countries where the foodbank ecosystem is at a preliminary stage. Establishing an integrated system comprising entities such as donors, foodbanks, food recovery and redistribution agencies (FRRA), and beneficiaries can be quite complex due to an underlying hierarchy, scale of operation, types of donors, and the severity of food insecurity of the beneficiaries. In this work, we present a strategic mixed-integer programming model to design an integrated foodbank network towards achieving an efficient, effective, and equitable food distribution mechanism for food-insecure beneficiaries while accounting for their age profile and nutritional requirements. We ensure cost-efficiency by minimizing the total system cost, effectiveness by discouraging food waste and unmet demand via charging penalties, and equity by adopting five variants of an egalitarian approach. We conduct a case study with a mix of real and realistically estimated data to design a foodbank network in Delhi (India) and present detailed analyses with insights for the practitioners. Specifically, the effects of foodbanks’ initial capacities, budget and strategic-to-operational cost constraints on the solution are identified. Among important observations, our analyses highlight when initiatives for collecting more ready-to-eat foods might be taken to relieve the pressure on the integrated system, and also help in identifying the conditions when investment in capacity building serves the beneficiaries’ interests better than direct spending.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ). |
Keywords: | Foodbank; Integrated network; Nutrition; Food insecurity; Optimization |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Management School (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 03 Sep 2024 07:36 |
Last Modified: | 03 Sep 2024 07:36 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier BV |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.ijpe.2024.109385 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:216648 |