How did you learn about Friends of WFP?

Whenever I speak with our supporters, I always ask them one question: How did you learn about Friends of WFP? Now is my chance to ask you! 

Please let us know how you found out about our organization by participating in our TwtPoll! If you answer “other,” feel free to comment on this entry about how you found us!

-Jessica Lennon

Web Associate

Friends of WFP

Join the Movement to End Global Hunger

The WFP Committee Program has been extremely successful since its inception in January 2008.  The WFP Committee Program mobilizes volunteers around the country to build public support for the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) and other hunger relief efforts.  WFP Committees are led by 3-8 leaders within the community who complete a two-month orientation and look to help end global hunger through fundraising, educational and advocacy activities.  WFP Committees are managed by a state coordinator.  Currently there are 30 committees in 15 states, which are led by hundreds of volunteer leaders.  We intend on heading west to five new states (including one eastern state). 

·         Arizona

·         Colorado

·         Iowa

·         Massachusetts

·         Washington

We are looking to recruit State Coordinators and WFP Committee Leaders to help build the movement to end global hunger in these states.  We would like these recruits to go through our two-month comprehensive orientation in September/October.  We are hosting open conference calls from late July to late August to help you learn more about the WFP Committee Program. 

If you live in one of these states and are interested in one of these opportunities please contact the Friends of WFP outreach team at outreach@friendsofwfp.org or call (202) 530-1694. 

-Brian J. Ward
Outreach Associate
Friends of WFP

How can the online billion help the hungry billion?

There are more hungry people now than ever before. More than one billion people worldwide are suffering from chronic hunger, which is a record high. This means that more than 1 in 6 people are hungry today.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently released new estimates on the number of people who may not get enough to eat in the coming year. It is expected that more than 1.02 billion people will experience hunger in 2009, compared to 963 million in 2008. This represents a projected growth of about 11 percent more hungry people.

The increase, FAO says, is due to the combination of the global economic crisis and high food prices. The global food crisis hit its high point in 2008, leading to social unrest in countries where people could no longer afford to feed their families. Although food prices have dropped since then, in many countries, food continues to be more expensive than it used to be. As a result, the number of those facing chronic hunger and poverty continues to rise.

In response to this latest development, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has launched an online campaign, “A Billion for a Billion.” The idea is simple: how can the online billion help the hungry billion? “A Billion for a Billion” gives a voice to all those who cannot advocate for themselves. 

Please ask your friends to participate in “A Billion for a Billion” so that collectively we can raise awareness about the growing problem of hunger. 

Visit WFP’s “A Billion for a Billion” campaign web site to learn about ways to help.

-Jessica Alatorre
Outreach Associate
Friends of WFP

Catholic Relief Services on the Roadmap to End Global Hunger

Just a few days ago, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced that the number of the world's hungry reached one billion -- an all-time, unprecedented high. The United States must act immediately to ensure that this number does not increase while looking to the future for a permanent hunger solution. Representatives Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.) and Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) have already set forth a blueprint for the U.S. government to take action. They introduced the Roadmap to End Global Hunger and Promote Food Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2817). This legislation calls for the following: the creation of a White House office on global hunger and appointment of a hunger coordinator, the rebirth of the Congressional Select Committee on Hunger and the development and implementation of a comprehensive plan to alleviate world hunger.  

The Roadmap to End Global Hunger initiative is being led by a broad-based coalition, including Catholic Relief Services.  Bruce White, a food aid expert from Catholic Relief Services, was recently interviewed by author Bill Lambers about the importance of the Roadmap to End Global Hunger and what Americans can do to help.

Read Bruce White's Interview.  

Maria Reppas

Media Relations Manager

Friends of WFP

WFP works with HIV/AIDS patients to ensure effectiveness of ARVs

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) aims to feed 105 million people this year in 74 countries -- from Nicaragua to Namibia to Nepal. While WFP programs always provide critical relief for each of the populations they serve, food assistance took on special significance for the 2.4 million people living with HIV/AIDS who received WFP food assistance last year.

For the millions of people worldwide who are struggling with not only hunger but also HIV/AIDS, adequate nutrition becomes all the more crucial in their fight for survival. Many HIV/AIDS patients who are fortunate enough to receive anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) do not have reliable access to food. When the powerful ARVs are taken on an empty stomach, the side effects can be severe, often discouraging patients from continuing their treatment. Additionally, ARVs lose their effectiveness when they are not paired with a nutritious diet. It can be easy to forget how far-reaching the implications of hunger can be, but for the people living with HIV/AIDS, the result of inadequate nutrition can be far greater than going to bed hungry.

This concept is the basis for WFP’s action in 19 of the 25 countries that experience the highest rates of HIV/AIDS. WFP works to ensure that the invaluable ARVs do not lose their effectiveness due to something as basic as a patients’ empty stomach. Just ask Vusie Maphalala of Swaziland, who lost his wife due to the compounding effect that undernourishment had on her illness. Explaining how difficult it was to take his own medication when food was scarce, Maphalala describes people he knew who were “too hungry to continue their treatment.” Now he is proud to say that, thanks to the monthly rations of WFP food he receives along with his ARVs, “I don’t miss a single dose any more.”

Learn more about how WFP provides support to people with HIV/AIDS.

-Brooke Barron
Outreach Intern
Friends of WFP

WFP working with Haiti to prepare for Hurricane Season

The next hurricane season that could affect Haiti is not until July, but the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) and the Haitian people are working together to help decrease the potential damage of this year’s hurricane season.  To do this, WFP has teamed up with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to help stabilize the hillside.

Last year the streets of Gonaives were covered in mud after hurricane season.  In an effort to avoid this same situation, Haitians themselves are building the infrastructure to support possible storms.   In Gonaives, 260 Haitians are digging ditches, 300 are building barrages and 212 have helped to upgrade drainage systems on hillsides above Gonaives. 

Those who work in this program receive $2 a day and 110 pounds of WFP rice for every 25 days they work; this is enough to feed a family of five.  This program is considered “disaster mitigation,” rather than disaster prevention.  The hope is to reduce the damage from storms as much as possible.

-Brian J. Ward
Outreach Associate
Friends of WFP     

World Hunger Hits 1 Billion Mark

For the first time in history, the number of hungry in the world has surpassed 1 billion, according to a report released today by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The combination of high food prices and the financial crisis has had a devastating effect on families around the world. Compared to last year, there are 100 million more people who are hungry. 

Learn how you can make a difference by visiting WFP’s new “A Billion for a Billion” page. You can also read the full FAO/WFP/IFAD joint press release.

Jessica Lennon

Web Associate

Friends of WFP

“The Forgotten Refugees”

Newspaper headlines often cover stories about emergency situations around the world, and the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) is often one of the first humanitarian agencies on the ground providing assistance.  While WFP is vital in responding to emergencies, it also focuses on situations that do not always make the headlines.  WFP has just released a video entitled, “The Forgotten Refugees.”  The video tells the story of WFP operations in refugee camps in Nepal.  

During the early 1990s, “tens of thousands of ethnic Nepalese, who had lived in Bhutan for centuries, were forced to leave.”  They resettled in Nepal, where they have lived in refugee camps for nearly two decades.  Unable to leave the camps to work, the Bhutanese refugees rely entirely on support from the international community.

In the video, a WFP official in Nepal says, “On a daily basis we’re feeding over 100,000 people, which is a difficult logistical challenge.”  Through international donations, WFP secures rice for the seven different refugee camps.

Refugees work as volunteers on site.  They help check ration cards, unload food supplies and fill bags with food.

The video explains that now, under international agreement, some refugees may be able to apply to live in another country.  Currently, about half of the refugees have applied.  Unable to leave the camps, the refugees continue to depend on WFP for food assistance as well as vocational training.

WFP has been providing food assistance to Bhutanese refugees, or “The Forgotten Refugees” living in Nepal since 2002.

Visit the photo gallery on “The Forgotten Refugees.”

-Jessica Alatorre

Outreach Associate

Friends of WFP 

WFP Adapts to Changing Situation in Sudan

Recent conflict in the Jonglei state of Southern Sudan underscores how vital food assistance is to the 19,000 displaced people who are temporarily residing in that region. The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) is on the ground identifying populations in need of food assistance after recent events.

For the hungry, food is a powerful tool that provides not only nourishment, but also hope. Eleanor Roosevelt once remarked that, “The freedom of man, I contend, is the freedom to eat.” By delivering 18,800 lbs. of sorghum and nearly 2,100 lbs. of beans to Akobo County in Jonglei on June 13, WFP is actively working to give the people of Akobo a measure of hope along with the food assistance that should last them until the next harvest.

WFP continues to employ creative solutions to basic problems. One solution has been to use airlifts to overcome the challenges of food distribution that are exacerbated in Southern Sudan by damages to local roads caused by heavy rains.

Despite the inherent risks involved in humanitarian work, WFP will not give up. WFP continues to provide food to hungry people, especially to those who are facing uncertainty concerning their crops and ability to access food. Please support WFP’s mission to provide hungry people with both food and hope by donating today.

-Brooke Barron
Outreach Intern
Friends of WFP

PepsiCo and WFP Announce Partnership

Aiming to increase efficiency and reach more hungry people, the PepsiCo Foundation and WFP announced a strategic partnership to help increase WFP's efficiency in reaching millions of hungry people with much-needed food assistance. The PepsiCo Foundation committed $2.2 million for a program that brings together global logistics experts from PepsiCo to help strengthen WFP’s response to growing hunger needs brought on by high food prices and the financial crisis, as well as improve its operating efficiency and response time in crisis situations.

Learn more.

Maria Reppas
Media Relations Manager
Friends of WFP