There is enough food produced in the world to feed everyone and yet millions of people don't have access to adequate food - largely due to conflict and poverty.
This World Food Day, October 16 as many as 811 million people around the world are suffering chronic hunger.
After virtually no change for almost five years, in 2019 the crisis deepened
dramatically with an additional 161 million people considered undernourished, largely due to the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Global hunger was already at crisis level and unfortunately the pandemic has exacerbated all the factors that drive it. Food systems have been compromised, livelihoods destroyed and civil unrest has increased. This World Food Day we want to highlight the role we all play, from consumers to food companies and government to address the staggering need and the injustice of world hunger,”
says Ben Evans, Australian CEO of international aid organisation, Feed The Hungry.
World Food Day 2021, an initiative of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, carries the theme ‘Our Actions Are Our Future’, reinforcing the importance of collaboration to create a food secure world where hunger and poverty are reduced.
Nearly one third or approximately one trillion dollars’ worth of food is lost or wasted each year, damaged in the supply chain or thrown away by consumers.
That amount of food would sustain two billion people, or more than double the number of the world’s undernourished. “World hunger isn’t about a lack of food; it’s about getting it to those who need it most. As Christians, we have a responsibility to help the vulnerable, and as individuals we can do this by
reducing waste, supporting aid charities on the front line of hunger and by being advocates, calling for action for those who don’t have a voice,” says Ben.
Feed The Hungry has been distributing food and aid to the hurting and vulnerable for more than 30 years. Last year the organisation fed more than 330 thousand children, reached 23 nations, sent 116 shipping containers of food and provided more than 34 million meals. It has continued to feed hungry people throughout the pandemic, adapting processes to increase the number of meals distributed and people helped.
CEO Ben Evans reminds us, “Our actions ARE our future, and while hunger is a solvable issue it takes combined effort, compassion and first and foremost, acknowledgement. This World Food Day is an opportunity to ignite a conversation about the desperate need right now among so many in the world at risk of dying of starvation. Feeding the hungry doesn't just save lives, it can change them forever."
WORLD HUNGER FACTS:
- There is enough food produced in the world to feed everyone on the planet
- In just one year, in 2019, an additional 161 million people lost access to adequate food
- Conflict and poverty are the major causes of hunger
- Poverty and hunger are most acute among rural populations
- The sharpest rise in hunger in 2019 was in Africa, where the estimated prevalence of undernourishment, at 21% of the population is more than double that of any other region
- An estimated 14 million children under five suffer acute malnutrition
- Each day 25 thousand people including 10 thousand children die from hunger and related causes
For more information or an interview with Feed The Hungry CEO, Ben Evans, please contact Connie Lim, connie@wildhive.com.au
ABOUT BENJAMIN EVANS:
Ben is an articulate communicator with a heart for the poor and a conviction to advocate for those who do not have a voice. Ben joined Feed The Hungry in 2004 and has many inspiring stories to share about his time in the field, assisting with food distributions and documenting the organisation’s ongoing work. As a respected voice on the issue of hunger and with first hand stories, Ben is an experienced public speaker. He has given several media interviews and hosted a weekly Facebook Live video update for Feed The Hungry.
ABOUT FEED THE HUNGRY:
Feed The Hungry is an international Christian humanitarian organisation and registered charity, founded in 1987. With a commitment to fighting hunger due to poverty, war, famine and natural disasters, Feed The Hungry is on the ground, distributing a hot, nutritious meal every day to over 300 thousand children in 20 countries. Meals at school encourage an education which assists escape from the poverty cycle and greatly reduces the burden of provision from families. Fortified rice meals are designed to give young children all the nutrition their bodies need. When you support Feed The Hungry you’re providing more than a meal, it’s a future.