World Hunger Day was established by the the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation (FAO) 34 years ago to combat world hunger and poverty. The FAO believes that by providing access to livelihood, healthcare, schooling, and better nutrition we address core conditions that contribute to world hunger. This approach to decreasing world hunger is called social prevention.
Mary-Lee Townsend is Fanshawe College’s Sustainability Coordinator. She thinks that we often forget how critical food is in creating and supporting functioning societies.
“When you think about sustainability, you have society, economy, and the environment. And if all of those things are not in balance than something is bound to go off kilter eventually. And food is definitely core to that.”
According to the FAO social protection programs have saved 150 million people in rural areas from extreme poverty. For information about how you can be involved in social protection please visit FAO’s social protection page.
