In recent history, charities and organizations have given so much to alleviate hunger and keep children in school. Governments and many wealthy and generous individuals have also contributed to the fight against hunger in many poor communities. These efforts have resulted in a downward trend, but there are many more places where things are getting worse.

Below are a few programs that have been employed in different places:

School Meals

The World Food Program, together with many others provide high-energy foods (fortified and micronutrient powders), snacks, and medications to children in hunger areas.

This idea is to get families to send their kids to school and keep them there. As long as they stay enrolled, they get some education, which will enable them to find solutions to hunger themselves as they turn adults. Beneficiaries can learn in school rather than worry about their next meal.

Food for assets or training

Some programs also provide free meals every day to the community as they engage the working folks in building capacity. In some post-war communities, people are encouraged to give up weapons and unproductive intentions to learn a skill or work for some income.

They work on plantations, irrigations, and other economic activities to get them to become economically sound enough to take care of themselves.

Bulk buying to encourage more production

Some humanitarian agencies encourage poor farming communities to produce more by buying off what they produce as a way of guaranteeing a market for their produce.

The farmers are encouraged to invest more in their farms to do even better. The result is that they progress from subsistence farming to commercial farming, thereby improving the living standards of their families and the communities.

Did you know…

Vitamin A deficiency is a leading cause of child blindness across developing countries. It affects 140 million pre-school children in 118 countries. Deficiency in vitamin A can increase the risk of dying from diarrhea, measles, and malaria.
Source: Fifth Report on the World Nutrition Situation, 2005