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2689. Optimising Food Bank Operations: A Multi-Objective Approach for Improved Nutrition, Equity, and Variety

Invited abstract in session MB-18: Assessment Methods for Shaping the Green, Inclusive, and Digital Cities II, stream Sustainable Cities.

Monday, 10:30-12:00
Room: 42 (building: 116)

Authors (first author is the speaker)

1. Pol Gil-Figuerola
Department of Management, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
2. Marc Juanpera
Department of Management, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
3. Albert Soler-Noguera
Creu Roja Terrassa
4. Laia Ferrer-Martí
Institute of Industrial and Control Engineering, Technical University of Catalonia
5. Rafael Pastor
Technical University of Catalonia

Abstract

Food banks play a crucial role in facing food insecurity that affects millions of people worldwide. These organisations receive donations and distribute them to vulnerable families, usually through standardised food baskets. Food banks increasingly prioritise nutritional adequacy, food assortment diversity, and equitable product allocation. However, the food baskets may lack sufficient and balanced nutrients, and the family nutritional requirements, which depend on the sex and age of its members, are not considered in detail. In this study, we propose a multi-objective linear program to optimise the food allocation problem from food banks to beneficiaries. We employ a Thresholded Lexicographic Ordering approach to consider the following objectives, in order of importance: 1) maximise the nutritional coverage of the least covered nutrient-beneficiary pair, 2) maximise the variety of products in food baskets, and 3) minimise the total inequity. The model also considers the specific nutritional needs of the beneficiaries according to their sex and age, as well as the incompatibility between certain food products and beneficiaries due to dietary restrictions. We applied the model to a Catalan food bank case study, and our solutions led to significant improvements in all three objectives compared to the baseline solution.

Keywords

Status: accepted

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