World Food Day 2008
About World Food Day
In November 1979, the member nations of the Food and Agriculture Association of the United Nations (FAO) established World Food Day at the Organization’s Twentieth General Conference. World Food Day, which occurs every year on October 16 to commemorate the anniversary of the FAO, is a worldwide event designed to increase awareness, promote understanding, and encourage action against hunger.
Hunger and poverty are far too commonplace in many countries around the world. Thus, every year, World Food Day serves as a reminder of the FAO’s enduring quest to provide a long-term solution to these persistent problems. The ultimate goal of this initiative is to promote the concept that access to nutritious food is an fundamental human right and cannot be denied to any individual.
Objectives of World Food Day:
- To heighten public awareness of the problem of hunger in the world;
- To encourage attention to agricultural food production and to stimulate national, bilateral, multilateral and non-governmental efforts to this end;
- To promote the transfer of technologies to the Third World;
- To strengthen international and national solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty and draw attention to achievements in food and agricultural development;
- To encourage the participation of rural people, particularly women and the least privileged categories, in decisions and activities influencing their living conditions;
- To encourage economic and technical cooperation among developing countries.
(Source: FAO World Food Day fact sheet)
Since its inception in 1979, World Food Day has been observed every year and in more than 150 countries. With the 923 million people suffering from hunger and malnutrition and current Global Food Crisis continuing unabated, taking action on this year’s World Food Day is more pertinent than ever. On October 16th, bring World Food Day to your school or community and help fight for the fundamental human right to food.
World Food Day Activities
Action Against Hunger "Freeze Mob"
Get together with 20-100 or more of your peers to initiative a "Freeze Mob" on your campus or in your community. Choosing a public place during peak pedestrian traffic (i.e. campus student center or cafeteria during lunch, etc), coordinate a 2-4 minute freeze whereby participants spread out and suddenly cease all movement on cue. View the concept on YouTube.
The purpose of an Action Against Hunger "Freeze Mob" is to highlight the gravity of hunger and malnutrition in the world today and to demonstrate the negligence of the international community (as characterized by the United Nations and world leaders) in addressing these important global issues. The international community has been "frozen", in a sense, or remiss in its actions to end hunger and malnutrition, and we must speak up against this neglect on behalf of the world's hungry who have been denied their fundamental right to food.
Other ideas for World Food Day:
- Give-It-Up to Fight Global Hunger: Encourage community members to give up an indulgence they don’t need. Instead, encourage them to donate the unspent money to fight global hunger. For example, giving up a morning latte would make a $5 contribution, making lunch instead of buying lunch would allow a $7 contribution, and watching a pre-owned movie at home instead of the theaters would save $12 for a contribution. Raising funds by giving something up for global hunger will engage your community to think about how much they have to be grateful for and what they can “live without so that others may simply live”.
- Organize a Fast for Awareness on World Food Day.
- Hold a drawing competition in the weeks approaching World Food Day and include the winning image in an informational flyer outlining WFD, its objectives, and the problem of global hunger.
- Hold a fundraiser to support a local or international project or organization (such as Action Against Hunger).
- Initiate a club or discussion group at school or in your community to continue addressing the issues all year long. Discuss global hunger as it appears in current events and the media.
- Put up posters and flyers detailing the extent of global hunger, the areas most affected, the effects of malnutrition, and ways people can help.