Definition

This Policy Instrument typically involves the transfer/supply of non-perishable food items to meet both specific quantity and quality standards, ideally incorporating fortified foods in emergency and humanitarian contexts. It should not be a single food item-based ration but a mixed ration, which may include a balanced combination of one or more staple foods, pulses, vegetable oil, salt. Food items may be procured from within the country, including from smallholder farmers, which can in turn also support livelihoods and boost the local economy.

Rationale

Emergency food transfers/supply provide rapid access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food during crises - helping prevent hunger, malnutrition, and negative coping strategies among affected populations.

Key features

• Social protection systems including coordination platforms, targeting and beneficiary management systems, workforce, delivery mechanisms, etc can help to rapidly and adequately reach large segments of the vulnerable population, providing support at scale. When feasible and appropriate, social protection systems can be leveraged by international humanitarian actors to provide emergency food transfers to crisis affected populations.
• Successful delivery of emergency food transfers—whether for one-off rapid-onset shocks or longer seasonal stresses—requires pre-agreed plans and effective logistics, which might include pre-positioning stocks, planning timely distribution, ensuring food safety and quality, and maximising the nutritional benefit.
• Emergency food transfers have the potential to be integrated with anticipatory action approaches, so that assistance can be released predictably and rapidly when an agreed trigger-point is reached and before the disaster fully hits.
• Also, in complex emergencies and fragile contexts great care must be taken to ensure that food transfers are “conflict sensitive” and specifically tailored to the contexts in which they are delivered to avoid exacerbating conflict or tensions.
• Emergency food transfers, whether for short term relief or in response to seasonal stresses are unlikely to meet the nutritional needs of all members of households, specifically pregnant and breastfeeding women and children under five years of age. A complementary and nutritious food supplement, cash top-up, or vouchers provided directly to women and children, will be needed particularly in contexts of high food insecurity in order to prevent malnutrition.

Targeting mechanisms

• For short-term relief following sudden disasters such as typhoons or floods, food assistance may be distributed to people registered as having been affected (e.g. those displaced to emergency shelters) or living in geographical areas identified as affected. For assistance in the light of seasonal stresses, e.g. during the lean season, food items may be distributed to households in areas where the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) level, ideally triangulated with malnutrition information, or the Cadre Harmonisé (where relevant) or equivalent, exceeds a certain threshold, with assistance targeted at those deemed most in need by the community or other targeting method.

Links with other policy instruments

• Food transfers may be preferred to cash transfers in contexts where markets are disrupted or where food prices are high or volatile and/or experiencing high inflation. Under such conditions, the capacity of food transfers to keep purchasing power constant can be an advantage. They may also be combined with cash assistance for non-food needs, or sequenced so that those assisted receive cash assistance subsequently once markets are re-established.