2008 Press Archives
UN teams with England’s schools to feed hungry children in developing world
UN News Centre
WFP sponsors “The Really Good School Dinner” campaign
December 22 2008 – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has partnered with schools in England to provide nutritious meals next month to school children in some of the world’s poorest countries.
As part of “The Really Good School Dinner” campaign sponsored by the WFP, kids in England will each pledge to donate 10 pence every time they eat a meal at school from 26 to 30 January to fill the plates of hungry children in Kenya, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the developing world, according to an agency press release.
The campaign is part of several WFP initiatives in which school children in the industrialized world do their part to alleviate and raise awareness about the food crisis in developing nations.
In October, a group of sixth graders at Barnack C.E. Primary School in central England created and starred in a video featuring “Waste-Watchers” superheroes who work to combat food waste.
“It’s wonderful to see how these children have dealt with a complex issue in a fun and engaging way. We should all heed their message,” said Caroline Hurford, a WFP spokesperson in London.
Also this year, 11 United States school choirs in New Jersey have contributed music for “A Princeton Christmas: for the Children of Africa Vol. 2,” a Christmas CD to support WFP feeding programmes in African schools. Last year’s inaugural CD raised more than $40,000 and provided more than 160,000 meals, according to Tom Meagher, coordinator for the volunteer-based WFP Committee in New York.
According to WFP, enrolment has increased by more than 20 per cent during the first year in schools where the agency has introduced feeding programmes.
For more information, visit Friends of the World Food Program (http:/ www.friendsofwfp.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to building support for the WFP (http://www.wfp.org).
Contact:
Tom Meagher (A Princeton Christmas) / 908-907-3377
Maria Reppas / mreppas@friendsofwfp.org / 202- 530-1694 x 111