World Hunger Day exists to build awareness of food scarcity and hunger while inspiring action to put an end to them.
Food scarcity is when a region lacks sufficient food to meet the nutritional needs of the people living there. Put simply, not enough food exists.
Children are hit the hardest by food scarcity, with millions facing malnutrition that weakens their bodies and minds while threatening to steal their futures.
What Is World Hunger Day?
World Hunger Day is commemorated each year on May 28. Founded by the Hunger Project, this day aims to raise awareness of the global food crisis, a life-threatening emergency affecting millions worldwide, especially children.
Why Does World Hunger Day Matter?
Shining a light on the crisis of world hunger inspires meaningful action to stop it. No single person, community or organization can feed the world’s hungry alone — only together can we fight back against food scarcity and global hunger.
Jesus fed the hungry. And as the Church, we’re called to do the same. At Compassion, we work to bring local churches around the world together to do just that.
“I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” — Matthew 15:32, NIV
The goal of World Hunger Day is to rally those of us who are ready to stand in the gap for children and families in desperate need.
What Is Food Scarcity?
Food scarcity is when a region lacks sufficient food to meet the nutritional needs of the people living there. Put simply, not enough food exists.
While it may sound as simple as empty plates, for the families and children affected, food scarcity is so much more complex.
It’s having some food on your table today but none for tomorrow or the next day.
It’s not having a grocery store or market near your home or even transportation to get to one.
It’s living in a “food desert,” where food isn’t imported or supplied there.
It’s knowing you could grow your own food but not having the land or resources to do so.
It’s a gnawing belly that keeps children from learning and growing, preventing them from reaching their God-given potential.
For many people living in regions of severe food scarcity, water scarcity is also a challenge. The lack of both nutritious food and safe water keeps children and families sick, malnourished and hopeless.
Food Insecurity, Hunger & Malnutrition
Now that you’ve got a basic understanding of food scarcity, you might be wondering about other terms you hear when it comes to world hunger. Let’s quickly define them.
Food insecurity: While food scarcity means not having enough food to go around in a region, food insecurity means limited or uncertain access to it, even when it’s available. Food insecurity can also mean only having options that lack the nutrition needed to be healthy.
Hunger: Hunger is more than a growling belly. It’s having a growling belly without the food to fill it. It’s going without food consistently, leading to malnutrition.
Malnutrition: Malnutrition is when an individual gets too little of the nutrients their body needs to sustain themselves and grow. For example, a child may be getting so little food that they are underweight for their age. Other children may be getting enough food but not the right foods, so they lack the vitamins and minerals they need for their bodies to function. Malnutrition leaves children more vulnerable to infections and disease. It’s also a leading cause of death for children under 5.
What Causes Food Scarcity?
Food scarcity has many causes, both at the community level and for individual families.
Poverty: Poverty is the main cause of food scarcity for individual families. Poverty keeps them from purchasing sufficient, nutritious food. Families living in extreme poverty must survive on less than $3.00 per day, far from enough for the nutritious meals they need.
Natural disasters: Natural disasters like droughts, floods and severe storms destroy crops and livestock, completely eliminating food sources in communities that depend on them. Other disasters like earthquakes destroy infrastructure like roads, preventing the transfer of food.
Conflict: Conflict, like war or severe gang violence, displaces families, pulling them from their homes and any food that may be stored inside them. Conflict also destroys infrastructure, preventing resources from getting to communities in need.
Poor infrastructure: Many communities lack roads, grocery stores, refrigeration systems and other important infrastructure needed to safely and effectively transport and store food. Without these necessities, food spoils or fails to reach families altogether.
How Food Scarcity Impacts Children
One in 11 people worldwide faced hunger in 2023 alone, with one in 5 being in Africa, according to the World Health Organization. That’s equivalent to around 733 million people.
According to UNICEF, out of those millions, 37.7 million children suffer with acute malnutrition, while 10 million suffer from severe acute malnutrition — a deadly condition if not treated.
Food scarcity hits children the hardest. Without food, children:
Can’t develop as God intended: Malnutrition causes wasting (weight too low for age) and stunting (height too low for age). Sadly, severe wasting increases a child’s risk of death. Malnutrition due to food scarcity also prevents healthy cognitive development and can even hinder a child’s speech.
Can’t fight illness and disease: Without nutritious food, a child’s immune system is weakened, putting them in danger of serious infections and disease.
Can’t learn or reach for their dreams: A lack of food disrupts cognitive function, causes severe fatigue and makes it hard for children to concentrate in school. Without an education, children lack the knowledge and skills to reach for their dreams and provide for their families as adults.
These impacts on children are worsened by poverty. For example, children in poverty who suffer illness due to malnutrition often can’t get medical care, meaning there may be no hope of recovery once they fall sick. And children without education can’t become self-sufficient adults, keeping them trapped in generational poverty.
How Compassion International Fights Food Scarcity
At Compassion, we believe every child is made in the image of God, full of dignity, potential and value. So no child should be robbed of their life and growth because of food scarcity.
We partner with local churches in impoverished communities where hunger runs rampant. Together, we equip families with nutrition support, medical care and resources for feeding their children.
What does this look like?
Monitoring children for malnutrition and providing yearly medical checkups.
Delivering emergency food packs with staples like rice and eggs.
Providing children with vitamin supplements to ensure healthy development.
Offering regular meals and snacks to children in our child sponsorship program.
Equipping families with seeds, livestock, training and other resources to grow and raise their own food.
Partnering with organizations like ECHO to teach families sustainable methods to provide for themselves and their communities.
Through the support of local churches, families are empowered to provide the consistent food and care their children need to grow. They also gain a dependable, encouraging community that brings them to the feet of Jesus, their ultimate Provider.
Ketrina in Malawi Grows Food & Faith
Ketrina from Malawi has experienced Jesus’ faithfulness to provide firsthand. But it wasn’t without struggle, as hunger once stood in the way of her faith.
Ketrina tried to grow closer to God, but it was tough. She knew that God could care for her and her family, but hearing her children crying from hunger caused her hope in him to fade.
“I would ask myself, ‘Why am I going to church when there’s no food at home for my children?’ It was painful to worship while worrying about what they would eat.” — Ketrina
A mother of five little ones, Ketrina struggled to provide. In a matriarchal culture where women are the anchors of the family, the burden was hers to meet their needs. But it was an overwhelming challenge that often tested her faith.
One day, her son, Madalitso, was registered in the local Compassion program. And it was then that Ketrina witnessed her Provider, Jesus, in action through his Church.
At the Compassion center, Ketrina was able to attend nutrition classes, where she learned how to grow a kitchen garden. She also received the mustard and pumpkin seeds needed to get started.
“We were taught that we do not need to buy everything from the market. We can plant our own vegetables. I started small, with just a few vegetables behind the house. This provided a sustainable source of vitamins for my children.” — Ketrina
The blessings began to multiply. As Ketrina kept growing her garden, passersby would stop and admire it. Some even asked what they could buy.
“When I made $5.00, it was enough to buy maize meal and other food items for my children.” — Ketrina
Today, Ketrina has grown her income to the point of being able to afford fish, eggs and cooking oil, empowering her to cook balanced meals. Her children are healthier, and her trust in Jesus’ provision, just like her garden, is continuing to grow.
“Faith must work through my hands. The church taught me that. God showed me a kitchen garden, and I planted it. Now my children eat from it.” — Ketrina
With the local church’s gift of education and seeds, Ketrina has now grown a garden of tomatoes, gourds, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants and beans.
Through this provision, faith has been cultivated in her heart, filling her with lasting joy. And her children? They’re full too, no longer crying in desperate hunger.
“If it were possible to see through my heart, you would see the joy I have. It is not just my child who has benefited from the program but all of us.” — Ketrina
What You Can Do on World Hunger Day (Or Any Day)
On World Hunger Day (and every day!), you can be the hands and feet of Jesus for those just like Ketrina and Madalitso. Here are three ways to do just that:
Pray for children in need: When we lift the needs of children to our heavenly Father, we can trust he hears them (Psalm 34:17). We can also trust in his ability to provide for those in need. Join us in prayer for children by becoming a prayer partner.
Donate: By donating to Compassion’s Health and Nutrition fund, you help local churches offer therapeutic feeding, malnutrition monitoring, immunizations and other care to children in need. You can also donate emergency food packs to families facing food scarcity due to the global food crisis.
Sponsor a child: Children living in poverty need consistent care as they grow. And that’s exactly what you’ll provide as a child sponsor. As a sponsor, you’ll encourage a child and donate to them monthly. This consistent support empowers a local church to care for the child’s immediate needs (like nutrition), introduce them to the hope of the gospel and prepare them for a brighter future.
Children around the world suffer from food scarcity every day, not just on World Hunger Day. But through local churches and loving people like you, we can reach them with not only food for their bellies, but the life-changing hope of Jesus.
