A stochastic programming model for tactical product prepositioning at domestic hunger relief organizations impacted by natural hazards

Abstract

Disaster response involves the planning, coordination, and distribution of supplies in an effective manner to people in need. Recent natural hazards, such as hurricane Harvey, have exposed the complexities and challenges associated with those tasks. In this paper, a stochastic programming model is presented which considers prepositioning strategies among food bank facilities located in high-risks areas for hurricanes. The model considers the uncertainty associated with the impact of the hurricane at each facility in terms of the number of available supplies, donations received at the facility, and the expected demand for their service region. The first-stage decision attempts to minimize the number of people not receiving the needed supplies by prepositioning the existing supplies at each facility. Second-stage decisions maximize the system responsiveness by trying to satisfy the observed demand for the scenarios under consideration. The experiments consider scenarios in which one or two food bank facilities are shut down after the natural phenomenon and study the impact of prepositioning supplies.

A systematic literature review of food banks’ supply chain operations with a focus on optimization models

“…Marthak et al (2021) studied the prepositioning of food before the strike of a natural disaster, so donations vary according to the severity of the anticipated event by a fixed adjustment factor estimated from historical data analysis.…”

“…Finally, Marthak et al (2021) proposed a stochastic programming model that considers prepositioning strategies among food bank facilities in high-risk areas for hurricanes. Some researchers outlined the central work of food banks to build community resilience before, during and after disasters (Roberts et al , 2021).…”

“…Similarly, Balcik et al (2014) performed probabilistic sensitivity analyses to assess the effect on the models' deterministic solutions arising from supply uncertainty. Marthak et al (2021) studied the prepositioning of food before the strike of a natural disaster, so donations vary according to the severity of the anticipated event by a fixed adjustment factor estimated from historical data analysis.…”

“…Then they seek to balance the distance traveled by the food bank's vehicles to bring the food to drop sites and the distance charity agencies travel to grab the food at those drop points. Marthak et al (2021) consider the cost related to prepositioning and distribution of food on the arrival of a natural event. These costs depend on the traveled distance and the transported quantity.…”