What is World Food Day?
World Food Day (WFD) is recognised each year on 16 October, to commemorate the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (UN) in 1945.
Currently, billions of people across the world lack access to the food they need to lead an active and healthy life. This number includes far too many Australians who experience worry, stress or hunger when nutritious foods that make up a healthy diet are not available or affordable to them. World Food Day aims to promote worldwide awareness and action for those exposed to hunger and highlight the urgent need to ensure food security and nutritious diets for all.
Act Local, Think Global
This year, World Food Day is specifically calling for action across sectors to make healthy and sustainable diets accessible and affordable to everyone.
No matter how good our intentions, or how necessary our program is for the many families struggling to put food on the table right now, The One Box cannot solve hunger on its own. We rely on the community knowledge and connections from our partner schools and community organisations to ensure The One Box goes to families in need of a boost. We leverage the expertise and logistics infrastructure of The Fruit Box Group and also receive transport assistance from Fareshare Victoria. We also aim to support broader government and community advocacy to prevent and reduce food insecurity. By working together, we are helping to fill a vital gap in access to fresh food.
World Food Day in 2019 asks us to recognise that achieving zero hunger by 2030 – a UN Sustainable Development Goal – is not only about addressing hunger, but also about nourishing people, while nurturing the planet. The One Box plays our part by investing not just in young families being able to eat, but in families eating well. Our food boxes purposely contain a selection of nutritious foods which are recommended for daily consumption by the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating – fruit, vegetables, milk, and wholemeal or wholegrain bread. To minimise our carbon footprint, we purchase seasonal produce for The One Box from local farmers, and where possible, we fit The One Box deliveries in with The Fruit Box Group’s existing delivery runs, to minimise our transport emissions.
Get involved in World Food Day!
Every year, a large number of events – from marathons and hunger marches, to exhibitions, cultural performances, contests and concerts – are organised in around 130 countries across the world to mark World Food Day.
On October 16, The One Box team will be attending our local World Food Day event in Melbourne, Victoria, to hear from experts in our field about the state of food and nutrition insecurity in Australia.
We believe that everyone can play their part to achieve zero hunger worldwide by 2030, or sooner. That means that you can take action, too. Find a local World Food Day event near you, check out our article about addressing food insecurity in Australia, or sign up to The One Box’s newsletter to stay in loop.
Read more:
1. Eatforhealth.gov.au. (2017). Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. [online] Available at: https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/guidelines/australian-guide-healthy-eating [Accessed 3 Oct. 2019].
Written by Vivien Yii, Research Coordinator at The Fruit Box Group
