Up to 783 million globally people suffer from perpetual hunger. During 2023, the World Health Organization reports that 122 million more humans went hungry compared to 2019. On October 16th, the United Nations marks World Food Day to raise awareness about its Sustainable Development Goal of reaching Zero Hunger by 2030. In a world increasingly affected by climate change, hunger seems more likely to increase than to be eradicated in the next six years.

While global food production is currently sufficient to feed everyone, distribution challenges prevent getting nourishment to all. If climate impacts continue as they have, extreme weather is projected to push more people, particularly in the global south, into food insecurity. And amid the rising challenges, funding for the World Food Programme has fallen.

Global food systems may seem too big for individuals to have an impact but achieving zero hunger requires effort from all of us. World Food Day is your opportunity to learn and act for change. The sad fact is we have enough food for everyone, but preventing food waste in order to direct the surplus to the world’s hungry remain daunting challenges.

Reduce Food Waste

Reducing food waste can save you money and reduce the burden that food production places on the environment. It can also help reduce world hunger.

One-third of all food produced each year — about 1.3 billion tons — goes to waste. That’s four times the amount of food needed to feed the 800 million people currently living in hunger. The average American wastes 400 pounds of food each year. When consumers stop buying the food they don’t eat, producers and distributors will be forced to get creative in reaching previously underserved communities. Develop habits to reduce food waste at home and get involved with organizations, like Feeding America, that work to reduce food waste further up the distribution chain.

Increase Food System Efficiency

Current food production would be enough to feed the current population, but production will need to increase 50 percent to feed the estimated world population in 2050. You can be part of a more efficient food system by supporting local farmers markets. Direct purchasing eliminates links from the distribution chain and creates sales opportunities for smaller-scale producers. No matter where you buy it, purchasing organic food supports sustainable and regenerative agricultural methods.

Healthy Diet

Eating a healthy diet has the obvious benefit of helping you stay healthy. It is also part of contributing to a more efficient food system, but the benefits don’t stop there. Healthy foods usually include fewer ingredients — in particular, manufactured ingredients like artificial preservatives and flavorings. They also tend to use less packaging — consider an apple versus an individually wrapped snack bar. All of these changes mean that eating healthy reduces your contribution to climate change, which NASA predicts will change wheat and maize (corn) crop yields by the end of the decade.

Advocate

Individual changes are important but can only go so far. We have many opportunities to advocate for the end of world hunger. Encourage your elected representatives to support trade policies that improve worldwide access to food and to support the land grant universities that are working to improve agricultural methods. Donate to or volunteer with organizations that work to feed the hungry and amplify the #ZeroHunger message through your network by sharing facts about world hunger.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on October 15, 2018 and was updated in October 2024. F