World Food Day is celebrated every year globally on October 16 to celebrate the founders’ day of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 1945. This day is also celebrated by organizations like the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agriculture Development.
WFP was honored with the Nobel Prize in Peace (2020), for its contributions towards fighting hunger, providing peace in conflict areas, and stopping the use of hunger as a weapon in wars and conflicts.
World Food Day History
World Food Day was first observed in 1945. It was celebrated to mark the launch of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. The main focus of World Food Day is to celebrate the promotion of food security across the globe, especially in difficult times like the pandemic.
The Food and Agriculture Organization has played a pivotal role in achieving this goal. This day serves as a reminder of the necessity of this organization and helps to aware the world of the requirement for better agriculture policies to be adopted and executed by governments all over the globe to make sure there is enough food available for everyone.
Recently, World Food Day has used this day to highlight different ways and ideas of food security and agriculture, with climate change, fishing communities, and biodiversity.
World Food Day Significance
World Food Day is not just about celebrating the delicious food that we are lucky enough to eat, but it is also an opportunity to raise awareness about the people who aren’t that lucky to enjoy even one meal a day.
There are millions of people across the globe who are struggling with hunger, they do not have enough to survive. Starvation is a global crisis that needs to be addressed and tackled before it’s too late.
We live in a society where there are people who can manage to indulge in the finest of delicacies without any thoughts but there are also others who struggle for food altogether.
World Food Day is also a source to highlight the healthy diets that are good for our bodies. We need to educate the world more about what is healthy and what is unhealthy for our bodies. World Food Day is an opportunity to make food education a necessity.
The global pandemic of Covid-19 has intensified the issue even more. As per records, around 700 million people are suffering from hunger all over the world.
World Food Day 2023 Theme
The theme for this year has been announced ‘Water is Life, Water is Food. Leave No One Behind’.
Various themes have evolved over the years on World Food Day. Some of the themes of previous years have been listed below:
2016- Climate change: “Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too”
2017- “Change the future of migration. Invest in food security and rural development”
2018- “Our Actions Are Our Future, Ending World Hunger by 2030 is Possible”
2019- “Our Actions Are Our Future, Healthy Diets for A # ZeroHunger World”
2020- “Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together”
2021- “Safe Food Now For A Healthier Tomorrow”
2022- “Leave NO ONE behind”
How is World Food Day Celebrated?
Several events take place on World Food Day. From contests to concerts to exhibitions, cultural shows, performances, marathons, and hunger marches, World Food Day is celebrated in a variety of ways.
There are a lot many things that may appeal to you on this day. You can host the event yourself and brief the people about the importance of this day.
The best way in which you can celebrate World Food Day is by providing food to the needy. You can go to the nearest NGO or food bank and donate some food. You can include biscuits, tinned veggies and meat, soup, cereal, and much more in your food parcel.
You can also volunteer at these organizations and feed them yourself. You surely will be blessed by many for that.
You can also support various organizations that deal with hunger problems, one being UNICEF, which specifically deals with underprivileged children in dire need of food and security.
Different countries do their bit in supporting the needy in different ways. You can volunteer and contribute to their welfare.
Objectives Of World Food Day
The following are the objectives of World Food Day:
- Encourages the rural people to participate, especially women and the underprivileged in making decisions that can affect their living.
- Aware the world about the situation of hunger all around the globe.
- Promote technological ideas to developing countries.
- Promote unity among national and international boundaries to combat hunger, poverty, and malnutrition together.
Hunger Facts
- Around 821 million people have been reported to be undernourished, in 2005 alone, 785 million were recorded.
- Surprisingly, out of those, 99% live in developing countries.
- Women account for 60% of hungry people in the world.
- 1 in 5 children is born without a skilled nurse or birth attendant.
- Low birth rate accounts for nearly 20 million infants every year, 96.5% in developing nations.
- Most of the children under 5 years have been reported to succumb due to malnutrition, which is almost 50%.
