World Food Day: Action for #ZeroHunger

By Julie Yeros

World Food Day is observed every year on October 16 to promote awareness and action for those suffering from hunger and for the need to ensure food security and nutritious diets for everyone.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) calls upon citizens, governments, farmers, corporations, and youth around the world to take action and to make the goal of #ZeroHunger a reality by 2030.

Teach kids about the global goal to achieve #ZeroHunger and that by changing simple day-to-day actions, they can reduce waste, eat better, and use the Earth’s resources more wisely and take on a more sustainable lifestyle.

World Food Day Key Facts

821 million people in the world still suffer from hunger even though the world produces enough food to feed everyone. 60% of them are women.
About 70% of the world’s extreme poor live in rural areas. Most of them depend on agriculture.
Hunger kills more people every year than malaria, tuberculosis, and AIDS combined.
Nearly 45% of infant deaths are related to undernutrition.
1.9 billion people (more than a quarter of the world’s population) are overweight. 672 million of these are obese. Adult obesity is rising everywhere at an accelerated pace.
3.4 million people die each year due to overweight and obesity. In many countries, more people die from obesity than from homicide.
$3.5 trillion (USD) is the yearly cost of malnutrition to the global economy.
By 2050 agriculture will need to produce almost 50% more food, feed, and biofuel than it did in 2012 to meet demand.
One-third of the food produced worldwide is lost or wasted.

Resource: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

World Food Day 2024 Theme

World Food Day Theme 2024

Right to Foods for a better life and a better future: Leave no one behind

Food is the third most basic human need after air and water – everyone should have the right to adequate food. Human rights such as the right to food, life and liberty, work and education are recognised by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and two legally binding international covenants. Only when everyone enjoys the human right to adequate food will we be able to achieve other human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals. We all have a role to play. Governments, the private sector, farmers, academia, civil society and individuals need to work together to ensure a greater variety of nutritious, affordable, accessible, safe, and sustainable foods in order to achieve food security and healthy diets for all. Together, we can be the change.

World Food Day Activities

Children’s Activity Book

Read this year’s World Food Day Activity Book to discover the importance of food as a fundamental human right, healthy diets, the global challenges impacting our food systems and the solutions that depend on our actions. Regardless of our age, we can all learn how our choices can benefit a world where everyone has enough nutritious and safe food, leaving no one behind. -FAO

Download the FREE Activity Book

Poster Contest

Children and teens worldwide, from age 5 to 19, are encouraged to join the World Food Day Poster Contest and show their creativity.

Design a poster that symbolizes your favourite dish or recipe, representing the importance of diverse, nutritious, safe and affordable foods. Show us what this means to you, your community or the world through art.
The submission deadline is 8 November 2024.

Use the World Food Day Activity Book (above) for inspiration.

Click here for more information and to upload posters.

Stone Soup: A Story for World Food Day

This version of the classic tale was written for World Food Day in 2008 and focuses on the message that when we each give a little, we can achieve a lot.