Poverty-Incorporating Meta Goal Programming for Optimizing Food Resource Distribution in Food Banks

• Grant number: 25/07611-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: August 01, 2025
• End date: November 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Production Engineering - Operational Research
• Principal Investigator: Daniela Renata Cantane
• Grantee: Rhyan Christian Rampazo
• Supervisor: Dylan Francis Jones
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Portsmouth, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/05769-5 - Optimized Planning for Food Banks, BP.MS

Abstract

In 2023, approximately 733 million people worldwide were affected by severe food insecurity. Factors such as economic, health, and climate crises, as well as civil wars, contribute to maintaining or increasing the proportion of individuals facing food insecurity. Simultaneously, a substantial amount of food fit for consumption but lacking commercial value is directly discarded as waste. In this context, food banks play a crucial role in society by promoting food security through the collection, selection, and redistribution of surplus food, significantly reducing waste. However, technical assessments conducted in food banks in Brazil and the United Kingdom have revealed a critical limitation: the lack of computational tools to assist managers in the allocation process, making food distribution a manual and inefficient task. Given this scenario, this project constitutes an extension of the research currently underway, exploring the applicability of recent goal programming variants, such as poverty-goal programming and meta-goal programming, in the allocation of food resources by food banks. In addition to enabling a comprehensive literature review, the research will validate models developed in Brazil, ensuring greater robustness and applicability of the goal programming-based model currently under development in the country. The project is feasible within the proposed timeframe, as it benefits from partnerships with local and international food banks, as well as institutional support from UNESP and the University of Portsmouth. Moreover, the proponents have established strong institutional ties, reinforcing the feasibility and execution of this proposal. (AU)