Can We Feed One (1) Billion People?

My son sent me a website URL regarding a contest on ideas about feeding one (1) billion people.

Food is man's basic need. Sad to say there are billions of people across the globe who are hungry, starving, malnourished and many of them die.

Tony Robbins, an American author, entrepreneur, philanthropist and life coach, has a goal to feed one billion people in eight (8) years. He himself experienced how it was to be hungry so when he reached his financial goals he wanted to pay it forward in terms of feeding programs.

For Muslims, being hungry for 11-16 hours or fasting daily during the holy month of Ramadan is one of the pillars of Islam for their spiritual growth. The families eat together to break the fast at night time or early morning. Many of them share foods with relatives, friends and employees, extending to the less fortunate ones through charitable organizations.

In the United Arab Emirates you cannot see hungry poor people begging for foods on the streets. If there are, they will be jailed. Begging is not allowed in the UAE so if you want to help the hungry poor, just course it through the right charitable institution or group.

There is a humanitarian initiative managed by the UAE Red Crescent called Preservation of Grace. With the support of the government, the leaders and members 'spread awareness about the virtues of grace and giving in the society'. Foods are among the items they give to the needy. The donor's food leftovers are checked if right for human consumption and distributed in safe packaging among beneficiaries with respect. The authorities are strict when it comes to foods as it has something to do with health.

In other countries, there are food banks and soup kitchens where volunteers supported by sponsors prepare foods and distribute them to the poor. The staff and kitchen have to be inspected by authorities in line with operational and logistics restrictions. Some good-hearted people celebrate their birthdays or weddings by feeding orphans. There are also religious and civic organizations that organize feeding programs for school children.

I remember the project 'Operation Timbang' of then Pres. Ferdinand Marcos as malnutrition was one of the challenges he faced during his term. The Philippine government took advantage of US Food for Peace Program which Pres Marcos started in 1972 -- I was in grade 1. There were thousands of loaves called 'nutribuns' distributed among us. A nutribun was made of a blend of white and whole wheat flour mixed with non-fat dried milk powder, fortified with soy flour, and iodized salt. At the end of school days, no child went home with empty stomach.

According to Samantha Lebbos, when a person is hungry, these can happen to him: there can be boredom, pain, confusion, anger, sadness and tears. Indeed it affects health as it causes illnesses and sometimes can be fatal.

What do we do to help feed one (1) billion people? We cannot feed all. But there is a way. As Saint Mother Teresa said, "If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one."

How then? We can cancel the plan to buy unnecessary things or maybe skip a meal to feed at least one hungry person through the right channels. Some authorized charitable organizations prefer cash donation so they can buy the items for feeding programs in bulk with a discount and loyalty points convertible to purchase vouchers. We can also redeem our earned loyaty card points by donating to preferred charitable organization that promotes such advocacy.

Is your company helping to fight hunger? Check related articles to get more inspired from their stories --

17 Companies Committed to Fight Hunger
5 Companies Committed to Ending Hunger
Walmart's "Fight Hunger. Spark Change."

In the Digital Age, some related online platforms are developed to make things easier for all involved in feeding programs. One of them is MealConnect (Feeding America) that links food donors with local non-profit organizations for free.

We can explore and blend many ideas to help fight hunger and malnutrition. Now more passionately mindful of this issue, I will write more about it in my future blogs.

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Photo credits: Pixabay

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