Food aid and sustainable development

Abstract

Abstract For households experiencing poverty, food needs represent the largest percentage of their expenditures. One of the government’s efforts to address these needs is the implementation of a food aid program. However, the amount of Bulog rice aid and the number of people experiencing poverty in North Sumatra Province do not follow a consistent trend. This study was conducted to determine the impact of food aid programs on poverty (SDG 1), food sufficiency (SDG 2), and health and well-being (SDG 3). Poverty is analyzed by examining the composition of food and non-food consumption; zero hunger is assessed through the frequency of rice consumption and purchasing; and health and well-being are evaluated through protein consumption. Data were obtained from a sample of 100 Beneficiary Families (KPM) in Medan Belawan District, which has the highest number of families experiencing poverty and KPM. The data were analyzed descriptively using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test. The results show a significant change in household composition of food and non-food consumption, as well as the frequency of rice consumption and purchasing. Therefore, food aid could improve poverty and food sufficiency for the KPM. However, protein consumption among households has not changed significantly, thus their health and well-being have not yet improved.