From Cup to Crop Hunger Appeal

The UN World Food Programme has announced a Food Grant that will multiply any donation you give through Plan eight times! Just $17 can provide over 254kg of food, enough to feed 15 children for a month, or one family of 5 for three months. This food grant is critical to help families survive the 'Hunger Gap'.

Heng's story: how breakfast is keeping hungry children at school

Since Heng's dad died six years ago, the family has struggled through the yearly 'Hunger Gap' with only a tiny rice field, but recent floods destroyed their rice crop. Now the family wades through the floodwaters to collect leaves to dry and weave into mats that they sell as their main source of income. Heng’s sister, Heun is worried that he will drop out of school.

In countries such as Cambodia, the 'Hunger Gap' is the three to four months between last year's crops being eaten and next year’s being ready for harvest.  During this time, children such as Heng often go hungry.

When you provide food for children like Heng now, you give them a strong foundation for the future. Through Plan you can support School Breakfast programs helping children stay healthy through the 'Hunger Gap'. They attend school more regularly, and study better. Families benefit from take-home food rations, and can earn more income.

Why Food

Nearly one billion people around the world are suffering from hunger. There is enough food to feed the global population, so why does this problem exist?

The 'Hunger Gap' occurs when last season's food crops run out, and the new season's are not yet ready to harvest. Even in countries where rain has broken the drought, and fields look green, families have nothing to eat.

In developing countries such as Cambodia, Kenya and Zimbabwe, many people who live in poverty do not have enough money to buy or grow enough food.

Children under five face the most dangerous threat.

Their bodies are not yet strong enough to cope with missing out on food for prolonged periods. UN figures show that every 10 seconds a child dies from malnutrition or diseases caused by hunger.

Even those children that recover may suffer 'stunting' – both physically and mentally. They will struggle at school, and miss out on the skills to gain a good job. This leaves them stuck in the poverty cycle. It's vital we protect these children from hunger now to give them the foundation for a better future.

Every dollar counts

Last year with the support of the Australia community, we helped 3.5 million families and their communities.

What we are doing

Short term - The Cup

Our immediate focus is on supplying food relief to malnourished children and families. We're also helping communities recover from disasters that have affected their ability to provide their own food. We distribute tonnes of food to the people who need it most.

Long term - The Crop

Our long term strategy helps communities to meet their own food needs and cope with future disasters that have the potential to result in food shortages. This is primarily done through training and education. And we support school feeding programs so that children don’t have to miss out on food or education.

How can you achieve so much for so little?

The secret is partnership – between the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), Plan, people like you and the local community. Here's how it works: make a tax deductible donation WFP matches your donation with eight times the value in food Plan distributes your food to the poorest families the community provides volunteer cooks and storekeepers children and  families have food to survive the 'Hunger Gap'.