More than a Meal

But, what does that mean to you?

While the solution to combatting hunger seems so simple — get food to the people who need it—the reality is far from it. Supporting food security and minimising hunger requires much more than a meal or cash donation. 

It means looking at a number of strategies and tactics for individuals and families to empower and support them in tackling hunger and building futures. They need to have access to food, be educated about nutrition and how to be healthy, and given the resources to grow more crops and sell more harvests, this then enables them to be self-sufficient and resilient to future crises.

Farming is essential to the livelihood of refugees and the poor, so that people can provide food for themselves in a steady, sustainable way and also an income stream without such a heavy reliance on aid from foreign countries.

To ensure farmers are connected to economic opportunities, they need access to information, finances, and resources in order to boost their crop production, and minimise post-harvest losses (and increase incomes). Local solutions include natural and organic pesticides to reduce crop losses, compost training (so that farmers don’t have to buy fertiliser and can improve their land’s soil), and storage solutions which improve the shelf life of a farmer’s harvest. 

Education around solutions that help with sanitisation, nutrition, and agriculture all help families to become self-sufficient. Without such, waterborne diseases and chronic intestinal infections will continue to rob children of their health and potential, and disrupt farmers from tending to their fields. It seems simple, but small efforts like washing hands, and the need to use soap or ash in addition to water before preparing food, has not been common to all households. 

In many countries, men typically raise livestock and manage farmlands. But now women are challenging traditional gender roles by learning goat herding skills and generating incomes themselves. Empowering women to start businesses can help ensure their families earn enough money to buy and prepare food, as well as supporting their children’s education and futures. 

Credit loans are used to create and obtain sustainable provisions for people and also develop nations economically. Without access to credit, people cannot start up industries or projects including farming, or purchase equipment including fuel-efficient stoves which consume less firewood than traditional ones.

The immediate impact of donations, both cash and food, have had an incredible impact on world hunger. Contributing the price of one coffee a week, or even one meal, whether that’s $9 or $38, can mean the world of a difference to developing nations.

With nearly 3.1 million children dying from malnutrition each year, your support can help provide food and emergency supplies and education to children at risk of starvation.