By Ashley Capps | Project Leader
A Well-Fed World was thrilled to be accepted onto the GlobalGiving platform in 2023, helping our Plants-4-Hunger projects reach a new audience who might otherwise never learn about our work, or understand the critical importance of plant-based hunger relief. The United Nations has urged that we will need to produce 70% more food by 2050 without using any more land. According to the UN, we could feed a staggering 3.5 billion more people simply by growing crops for human consumption on land currently used to grow feed for livestock. Our Plants-4-Hunger program funds plant-based feeding, farming and disaster relief food aid projects around the world that feed more people using far less land, water, and energy, while protecting animals, ecosystems, and the climate.
#GivingTuesday marked our first big fundraising campaign using the GlobalGiving platform and we were blown away by the generous support we received from so many compassionate donors. With your help, we met our ambitious GivingTuesday goal of raising $10,000 for Plants-4-Hunger. We’re thrilled that so many people felt inspired to support plant-based feeding projects, and are excited to share a few highlights of the work you are helping Plants-4-Hunger support.
In April of this year, on World Pulses Day, we launched the Planetary Pulse Project, a collaboration with our partner Seed Programs International to distribute free or low cost organic legume seeds (pulses) to farmers and growers in need around the world. Pulses are one of the most planet-friendly foods on earth and include thousands of varieties of protein-packed beans, peas, and lentils. They are also one of the most nutritious and climate-resilient sources of protein available, and are already a staple in traditional cuisines around the world. They can be grown on so-called marginal land in inhospitable conditions; they are extremely water efficient, often grown as rainfed crops without irrigation; and they regenerate soil, improving soil formation and biodiversity, and promoting higher rates of soil carbon sequestration. Additionally, their ability to fix nitrogen means they reduce or even eliminate the need for synthetic fertilizers.
Through the Planetary Pulse Project, 33,310 packets of legume seeds were distributed to farmers and growers in need in 5 countries. Recipients included 4 schools in Zimbabwe, a hospital farm in Haiti, a community of Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria, two women farmers’ cooperatives in Uganda, and an urban community garden in Queens, New York. See the attached photos as well as the full Planetary Pulse Project report. Our partners said the legume seeds were such a success, and in such high demand, they would love to scale up the project next year with our funding support. To that end, we'll be uploading a dedicated Planetary Pulse Project page on GlobalGiving in January, and hope you’ll consider contributing! Or feel free to give to Plants-4-Hunger before then and include a note or comment if you’d like to specify support for the Planetary Pulse Project.
This year Plants-4-Hunger also sponsored a record number of nourishing meals for children in need through our Plant-Based School Meals Program. In Ethiopia, through our partner International Fund for Africa, we funded distribution of 180,000 meals to 500 children in 5 primary schools in Addis Ababa. The meals are traditional Ethiopian cuisine and include protein-packed lentils, vegetables, and bread. And in Nepal, through our partner Magic Marble Foundation, we funded distribution of 7,000 hearty meals of rice, daal lentils, and mixed vegetable curry to children in schools and orphanages, as well as unhoused community members.
Finally, Plants-4-Hunger’s Disaster Relief Fund has supported the distribution of 50,000 plant-based meals to displaced Ukrainian citizens and refugees since the start of the current conflict with Russia. Meals are prepared and distributed by Ukrainian volunteers at Lviv Vegan Kitchen, Vegan Kitchen Ukraine, and Polish chapters of Food Not Bombs where refugees have fled. Our support is ongoing and in addition to meals, our Disaster Relief Fund also assisted Lviv Vegan Kitchen in the purchase of a van for the long drives to and from Poland for food supplies.
These are just a few of the many life-affirming projects A Well-Fed World’s Plants-4-Hunger program was able to support with your assistance. Thank you so much for your generosity and compassion, and for sharing and supporting our vision for a world that is healthy, well-fed, and kind…all at the same time.
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