October 16 is celebrated around the globe as World Food Day. On this day, volunteers from all countries step forward to inspire commitment towards ending hunger worldwide. In response to WFD’s official motto “when it comes to hunger, the only acceptable number in the world is zero”, researchers from ISET Policy Institute donated food items to Catharsis Georgia – a charitable organization that, among other services, feeds 310 elderly in need every day.

After quite a number of declines food prices started to increase in the beginning of October signaling the end of fresh fruits and vegetables’ season. Retail FPI for the 2nd week of October is 5% higher compared to the last week of September. Increase in prices is driven mostly by the increase in price of vegetables and fruits. Plum became 35.4% more expensive in October, eggplants’ price increased by 21.4% and apples gained in price 17%.

Project aims to study the best international practices of food security data collection mechanisms and map and analyze the existing mechanisms in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia in terms of food security data collection. ISET-PI team is expected to compare national data collection mechanisms with international practices, identify key gaps and challenges in measuring FS and provide specific recommendations for FS data collection in three countries.

Food prices in the largest supermarkets of Georgia have been on decline over the last couple of months. Prices started adjusting downwards in July 2015 and the trend persisted in September. According to ISET Policy Institute’s Retail Food Price Index (Retail FPI) in September 2015, prices were 1% lower compared to August 2015.

The Georgian Lari has lost in value during the last couple of weeks, but, perhaps surprisingly, this has not yet translated into higher food prices. According to the latest results of ISET's Retail Food Price Index (FPI), the prices of food staples sold in the main Georgian supermarket chains have actually decreased by 0.6% during the last week of August (Aug 22-29).