It’s World Food Day! From pizza to pasta, cookies to cakes, and all of the good stuff in between, there are so many amazing dishes and ingredients for us to indulge in today, and World Food Day celebrates them all.
What is World Food Day About?
World Food Day is not only about celebrating the amazing food that we have the privilege of indulging in, but it is about raising awareness for people who do not have such privilege. There are people all over the world who are suffering from hunger. Starvation is a massive problem in a number of countries, and we need to do more to raise awareness and combat this problem. It seems crazy that we live in a world whereby a large portion of the population can indulge in any sort of food they wish without a second thought while others struggle to put food on the table.
We can also use World Food Day to raise awareness about healthy diets and what our bodies need. In recent times, education has grown about healthy diets and what foods are good and bad for our bodies, but we are not there yet! World Food Day gives us a great opportunity to further education and awareness in this area.
When Did World Food Day Start?
World Food Day was first launched in 1945. The reason World Food Day was created was to celebrate the launch of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation.
The main principle which World Food Day celebrates is the furtherance of food security all over the world, especially in times of crisis. The launch of the Food and Agriculture Organisation by the UN has played a huge role in taking this worthy goal forward. Its annual celebration serves as a marker of the importance of this organisation and helps to raise awareness of the crucial need for successful agriculture policies to be implemented by governments across the world to ensure there is ample food available for everyone.
In recent years, World Food Day has used its annual day of celebration to focus on different aspects of food security and agriculture, including fishing communities, climate change and biodiversity.
There are a number of different themes that have been attributed to World Food Day over the years. We definitely recommend checking out the theme each year so that you can base your activities on this date on the theme in question. For example, some of the themes there have been in the past include; “Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too”, “Social Protection and Agriculture: Breaking the Cycle of Rural Poverty”, and “Feeding the world, caring for the earth”, which was based on family farming.
Despite the fact that World Food Day was founded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, a lot of different organizations around the world celebrate this day. This includes the International Fund for Agricultural Development, as well as the World Food Programme. You will notice that a lot of businesses get on board too, which is great. The more, the merrier!
How to celebrate World Food Day
There are a number of different events that take place on World Food Day, so it is worth looking into these to see if there is anything going on in your local area. This includes everything from concerts and contests to cultural performances, exhibitions, hunger marches, and marathons. With so many large profile events taking place, you are bound to find something that appeals to you! And if there isn’t anything going on in your local area, why not be the person to host the event?
One of the best ways to celebrate World Food Day is by giving food to people who need it the most. If you do a quick search online, you should be able to find the nearest food bank to you. Most food banks are going to accept food or money. The sort of food that is in a typical food parcel includes biscuits, tinned fruit, tea, coffee, tinned vegetables, tinned meat, beans, pasta sauce, rice, pasta, soup, and cereal. You could also volunteer your time, food banks are often looking for willing volunteers. No matter how much time you have to spare, we are sure that it will be appreciated.
You contribute to reduce hunger
Of course, there are countries all around the world that need help because they are battling starvation. Kenya is a prime example. In countries like Kenya, the price of basic foods has skyrocketed, which has resulted in a large number of children going hungry. There are a lot of different charities out there that are working hard to change the lives of families and children who need it the most, ensuring they have the food they need to survive.
You can donate to one of these charities or support local businesses. You could also opt to do some fundraising as well. There are many different ways you can go about this, from fundraising events to sponsored activities. If you are able to raise awareness and some money in the process, it’s a great thing!
It is worth spending some time researching the different ways that countries all around the world honor this special day. More than 150 countries participate in this day, and there are conferences and different events that happen all around the world.
For example, in the United States, the Iowa Hunger Summit has been held on World Food Day, or near to the date, since 2007. In Cuba, the media strongly supports awareness on various campaigns relating to World Food Day, and an agricultural fair is held so that producers can exchange their experiences and views.
In Mongolia, they have made it tradition to organize the Food Security conference on this date. This event is about promoting research to develop regulations and policies, as well as valuing the contributions of researchers and scholars to the country’s food security. In Cyprus, special ceremonies are organized in secondary and primary schools where teachers teach their students about this day. In Italy, many exhibitions and conferences are held by NGOs, international agencies, research agencies, universities, and ministries.
A lot of countries also use this day to support the people in their society who need it the most. For example, in the Philippines, a lot of the work is focused on increasing food gifts to poor urban families. The same has occurred in Pakistan whereby they provide food packages to the née-dies and poor on this date.
Life is for living, tap into it.
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