Hunger Challenge

Currently 795 million people in the world do not have access to enough food, demonstrating that hunger poses the number one threat to health and kills more people than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.i

Good nutrition, particularly in the 1,000-day window (from pregnancy to age two), is crucial in establishing and maintaining a strong foundation that can influence a child’s future physical and mental health, academic achievement, and economic productivity.

Food insecurity, which can lead to malnutrition, is unfortunately a common obstacle that threatens this very foundation.

Did you know?

  • 1 in 9 people do not have enough food to be healthy and lead an active life.ii
  • 66 million primary school-age children attend classes hungry in the developing world, with 23 million in Africa alone.iii
  • According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in 2012, nearly 16 million children under the age of 18 were consistently unable to get access to the adequate, nutritious food necessary to lead a healthy life.iv
  • In 2011, the top five states in the U.S. with the highest rates of food insecure children under 18 were: Arizona, Georgia, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington, DC.v
  • In 2013, roughly 1 in 7 people in the U.S. received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, or food stamps. This translates to a record high of almost 48 million people.vi