Founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization
In the midst of World War II - in 1943 when the situation looked very grave - President Franklin D. Roosevelt invited representatives of the allies nations to a conference in Hot Springs, Virginia to consider the establishment of an international organization to deal with food and agriculture issues when the war ended.  The conferees spent three weeks developing a proposal for the Food and Agriculture Organization.  The draft was approved unanimously and the first home of the FAO was in Washington, DC. 

FDR commended the delegates with these words: "You have demonstrated beyond question that free peoples all over the world can agree upon a common course of action, and upon common machinery for action...The United Nations are united in the war against fear and want, as solidly and effectively as they are united on the battle front in this world war against aggression...And we are winning that war by action and unity."

FAO now leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. It is also a source of knowledge and information.

World Food Day
World Food Day (WFD) was established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) at its Twentieth General Conference in November 1979. The date chosen - 16 October - is the anniversary of FAO.  Since 1983 an annual theme has been chosen in order to provide a common focus for WFD activities.  Several different types of activities are organized at local and national levels:

• Organization of agricultural fairs, exhibitions, and visits to farms and/or farmers' markets
• Activities on the WFD theme by the National Committees, NGOs,  and community and farmers' organizations.
• Preparation and distribution of materials for education on development for schools
• Round-tables, workshops and symposia on the WFD theme
• Official recognition for food producers through prizes and/or trophies
• Distribution of food, money or agricultural inputs to needy persons and groups
• Initiation of new field projects related to food self-sufficiency
• Training and support to individuals and groups in the preparation of family or school-kitchen gardens
• Special, Government-issue, commemorative coins or stamps
• Tree-planting ceremonies and related activities
• Drawing and/or poster competitions, essay-writing contests, etc.

It has since been observed every year in more than 150 countries to:

• heighten public awareness of the problem of hunger in the world;
• encourage attention to agricultural food production and to stimulate national, bilateral, multilateral and non-governmental efforts to this end;
• promote the transfer of technologies to the Third World;
• strengthen international and national solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty and draw attention to achievements in food and agricultural development;
• encourage the participation of rural people, particularly women and the least privileged categories, in decisions and activities influencing their living conditions;
• encourage economic and technical cooperation among developing countries.

Additional information about WFD can be found on the FAO website.