2007 World Food Day events highlight the right to food and the power of working together to help ensure food security for all - every day!
Since 1981 World Food Day has been a story of concern and action at all levels in communities around the world. For 62 years the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN has been at work wherever its skills have been needed, and for 27 years the citizens of the world have been joining forces with FAO through the annual worldwide observance on October 16th to focus on FAO’s efforts and to add their own impact in a thousand ways. The following selection of events and activities is a sample of what is happening this year.
World Food Day at FAO Headquarters – Rome, Italy
October 16 in FAO Plenary Hall
Theme: The Right to Food – Make It Happen! The presidents of the Federal Republic of Germany and the United Republic of Tanzania will keynote the observance.
World Food Day at the United Nations – New York
October 18 at the UN
Eleanor Roosevelt Monologue on “The First Human Right” Launch of the Year of the Potato
World Food Prize Award Ceremony and Symposium
October 16-19 – Des Moines, Iowa
Biofuels and Biofood – Global Challenges will be the topic of lectures and panels. Dr. Philip E. Nelson, Purdue University Researcher, will be presented the 2007 Prize. The Iowa Hunger Summit will precede the Symposium.
24th Annual WFD Teleconference
October 16th -- 12 to 3:00 p.m. eastern time
Climate: Changes, Challenges and Consequences. Panelists: Suzanne Hunt, Dr. Cynthia E. Rosenzweig and Dr. Stephen Schneider. Special films on the Millennium Goals and Our Ecological Footprints. Produced by the U.S. National Committee for World Food Day
World Food Law Symposium
October 16th
“Food Standards and Global Food Trade” will be the theme of the Symposium held at the Cosmo Club, Washington DC. The event is co-sponsored by the Howard University School of Law, the International Food and Agricultural Trade Policy Council, the American Society of International Law and the Friends of World Food Law
Grand Central Station Concert
October 17th
Internationally renowned pianist Yefim “Fima” Bronfman will kick off a first of its kind charity auction. This Food Bank of New York fundraiser is a made possible through a partnership between Yefim Bronfman, Grand Central Terminal and Steinway Inc.
Drake University Agricultural Law Center Marks 25th Anniversary
October 15 and 16
The two-day workshop marking the creation of the Center is sponsored by several groups including the International Food Policy Research Institute. The Role of Law in Promoting Sustainable Farming and Rural Development: An International Perspective will be presented by speakers from the U.K., Argentina, Canada, India, China, the Ukraine, Ethiopia and the U.S.
World Relief Week
October 14 – 20
Friends of the World Food Program and Yumi Brands are joining forces to increase volunteerism and to raise funds for the UN World Food Program.
Bread for the World Sunday
Celebrated on a Sunday between World Food Day and Thanksgiving
Materials available include bulletin inserts, a reflection resource and pew envelopes. BFW is a nationwide Christian movement that seeks justice for the world’s poor people.
New Mexico Hunger Task Force Annual Meeting
October 16th
Anti-hunger activists join forces with states’ mayors to plan World Food Day, including the teleconference at the University in Albuquerque and awards. Mayors representing cities of all sizes from Las Cruces, Santa Fe and Rio Rancho to Gallup and Jal are expected to issue proclamations in 2007.
25th Anniversary for New York Hunger Action Network
October 16th
The Network will honor three longtime anti-hunger leaders for their work: Kathy Goldman, founding director of the Community Food Resource Center, Bill Ayres, co-founder of WHY, and Betsy Gotbaum, NYC Public Advocate. The state’s three thousand plus food pantries and soup kitchens help feed more than two million individuals annually.
National Food Bank Week
October 15-19
Sponsored by America’s Second Harvest, “National Food Bank Week is held in honor of World Food Day and hungry Americans across the country.”
Action against Hunger holds Eighth Annual World Food Day Gala
November 7, 2007
Proceeds raised will benefit programs in 40 countries. The North Jersey Media Group will hold a food drive on October 14th.
Hunger in the Heartland Conference
October 13 and 14
The Grand Forks (North Dakota) along with organizations including the University of North Dakota and Red River Valley Community Action are sponsoring the conference to highlight efforts underway in the state to deal with food insecurity.
NetAid Coordinates National Effort
October 2007
Global Citizen Corps Leaders from New York to Texas are using creative ways, from distributing pamphlets at homecoming events to school announcements to school assemblies to an Oxfam Hunger Banquet to raising funds to donate chickens to refugees in Darfur to mobilize their peers for World Food Day.
Fresh Food Agenda for Philadelphia
October 5, 2007
The Greater Philadelphia Coalition is hosting a free workshop at the University of Pennsylvania. The Penn Project on Civic Engagement and the Great Expectations series will facilitate a final session through which participants will agree on an action agenda “that could have measurable impact on quality, access and affordability.” Mayoral candidates will answer panel questions.
Miami University “Forty Hour Famine”
October 12-18
AIESEC (L’Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales) at Miami University of Ohio is sponsoring World Food Day across campus to show support and commitment to ending hunger. Students will be encouraged to fast for forty hours; donations of dried foods and monetary contributions will be collected for a food pantry near the campus.
World Bank Report on Agriculture
October 16
The World Bank will release its annual World Development Report 2008 on World Food Day. This report seeks to assess where, when and how agriculture can be an effective tool for economic development, especially development that favors the poor.
WorldFest 2007
October 11-15
World Neighbors will host their fourth annual WorldFest in a new location – the Coca Cola Bricktown Event Center. Handcrafted items and cultural performances by international dancers, singers and instrumentalists and an international education fair will be featured.
Cans Around the Oval 2007
October 11, 2007
This year marks the 20th year of this event. Students, faculty and staff partner with community members, local media and area businesses to raise awareness about hunger. CanStruction – building with cans -- has been added to the event.
Blueprint for a Hunger Free Pennsylvania
October 15-19, 2007
During National School Lunch Week the Pennsylvania Department of Education will highlight the role played by school lunch in reducing childhood hunger. The Blueprint sets out the goal of eliminating chronic food insecurity in Pennsylvania by 2020 through partnerships between government and non-governmental organizations.
Empty Bowls a Focus for World Food Day
October 16, 2007
Empty Bowls – an international project to fight hunger at the local level is used in communities across America. Sponsors this year include the Lake City Community College in Florida, the City Council in North Carolina, the Manna Food Bank in Asheville, North Carolina and many others. The Milwaukee Empty Bowls event is the largest in the U.S.
Washington State Schools Observe World Food Day
October 16th
The Washington State Food and Nutrition Council and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction are promoting World Food Day in classrooms, cafeterias and communities with special menus and lesson plans. Programs for kids such as scouting, youth clubs and faith-based groups are using the WFD Feeding Minds materials.
International Food Day
October 20, 2007
The 1st international Olive Oil Fest and the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival will combine efforts. The event will feature over 250 different brands of olive oil from around the globe with complimentary products such as tomatoes, pesto, pasta, wine, breads and oganic food products.
Why Kids Can Make a Difference
October 16th
The Florida Virtual School will present an on-line program on how students can get involved in the fight against hunger and poverty. The 6-12th grade students from schools across Florida will take part in this World Hunger Forum.
Bullets to Seeds, Guns into Plows
September-October 2007
Throughout the weeks around World Food Day the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is conducting a special collection for worldwide programs to “enhance human dignity through food, shelter, health and peace projects.”
Iowa Hunger Summit
October 16, 2007
The Hunger Summit will highlight the accomplishments of Iowans working to fight hunger at home and abroad. Under the bipartisan leadership of Iowa’s three former governors, the first-ever Iowa Hunger Summit will involve leaders from community organizations, business and industry, state and local governments, social agencies, churches and religious communities, schools and universities.
Virgin Islands WFD Observance
October 14th
Activities will be held on the grounds of the St. Croix campus of the University from noon to 6. There will be food vendors, a farmers’ market, tours of the Agricultural Experiment Field facilities, workshops, vegetable seedling distribution, music and cultural entertainment.
Borlaug Lecture Series
October 22 and 23
North Carolina State University College of Agriculture and the College of Natural Resources will host the annual series. Dr. Thomas Lovejoy, President of the Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, will give the Borlaug lecture. Other events are scheduled.
National School Lunch Week 2007
October 15-19
The School Nutrition Association, sponsors of School Lunch Week, have announced rules for the “Design a Candidate” contest in their Vote for School Lunch elections.
Torrington, Connecticut to Inaugurate World Food Day Event
October 8 to 16
The planning group hopes to generate enough interest and support to create a Food Policy Council or Food Resource Committee. The Mayor will participate in a Food Stamp Challenge; lectures are scheduled at the University of Connecticut campus and there will be a “Working together Works” Fair.
National Broken Bread Poverty Meal
October 16th
World Vision is seeking campuses to participate in a simple porridge meal and to identify, interact and intercede for those broken by the cycle of AIDS. The Senate Hunger Caucus is hosting a Broken Bread event on Capitol Hill in Room 325 of the Russell Senate Office Building. Senators Dick Durbin and Gordon Smith will host the poverty meal on Capitol Hill.
61st Observance of CROP Walks
More than 30 organizations work together to organize community walks to raise funds for local and global efforts in 80 countries. A new resource built around the Millennium Development Goals has just been published to help in this endeavor -- Making Poverty History: Hunger Education Activities that Work!
Working Together Works
Throughout the life of World Food Day ZIGGY, WITH A CARTOON PSA, HAS PROCLAIMED THE MESSAGE OF OUR COMMON GOAL - WORKING TOGETHER TO HELP BUILD A BETTER WORLD.
Every year The United Nations, governments, institutions, organizations and individuals, young and old, freshen the voice of caring and action with new initiatives and new energy.
This WFD logo composed of pieces of the logos of our hundreds of sponsors is a reminder that World Food Day belongs to everyone and should be used by everyone to help involve all our nation's caring citizens in showing the POWER OF THE PEOPLE!!!