Our Year in Review: WFP USA’s Top 8 Moments of 2024
It’s that time of year! We’re looking back at our accomplishments from 2024 and all the ways we worked towards Zero Hunger. In our fiscal year 2024, we granted a record-breaking $193 million dollars to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). This powered the U.N. World Food Programme’s response to hunger crises in 123 countries and territories and helped it reach more than 100 million people. Our year was filled with partnership milestones, new collaborations and breakthrough moments. So, without further ado, here are our top eight moments from 2024:
1. 2024 was a year of firsts for WFP USA. In September, we launched our first ever Giving Day to inspire global generosity in the fight against hunger. Thanks to a generous donor, we were able to match all gifts made on Giving Day, effectively doubling their impact. By day’s end, we raised enough money to provide more than 289,000 meals for families facing extreme hunger.
2. In August, we announced the launch of our Zero Hunger Activist Council, a group of socially conscious and passionate young creatives who share our commitment to solving world hunger. Bailey Bass, Drea Okeke, Maddy DeVita and Manolo Gonzalez Vergara joined the inaugural Council class and have already used their voices to advocate for a world without hunger at events like…
3. …a panel hosted by Food Tank and WFP USA during NYC Climate Week in September. The event was one of many we held or participated in alongside the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York.
The week was a flurry of activity with our private sector, celebrity, and youth advocate partners, including the Global Citizen Festival where Antoni Porowski announced a new commitment from Citi to support the U.N. World Food Programme’s work. Just a few weeks later…
4. …We welcomed Antoni Porowski as the newest Goodwill Ambassador for WFP. Porowski is an Emmy Award-winning producer, TV host, culinary expert and New York Times bestselling author known for starring in the critically acclaimed Netflix series Queer Eye. He plans on leveraging his passion for cuisine and culture to advocate on behalf of the 343 million people facing extreme hunger.
5. Antoni Porowski’s in good company with fellow Goodwill Ambassador Andrew Zimmern who we teamed up with on a video series called “Andrew on the Streets.” In the series, Zimmern visits Chicago to talk to unsuspecting people about WFP’s work and the fight to end world hunger. Their responses might surprise you:
6. Our supporters turned out last year. Some donated, some played Freerice and some sent letters. In fact, they sent more than 54,000 letters to 500 Members of Congress in the House and Senate. These advocates reached out to their representatives on behalf of WFP USA in support of humanitarian aid in conflict zones and school meals programs. Thanks in part to these efforts, the United States remained the single largest donor to the U.N. World Food Programme in 2024.
7. Speaking of school meals, we launched our second Erase Hunger™ campaign and raised more than $1 million dollars, providing more than 4 million school meals to students in need. Through the generous support of partners, including ADM, FEED and professional soccer player Jozy Altidore, the campaign raised twice as much money as the year before.
8. We hit a special milestone with one of our partners in 2024: 10 years of collaboration with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. With the Church, we announced a joint contribution of $4.3 million dollars to help construct and support an emergency response logistics hub in Barbados. The hub will enable the U.N. World Food Programme to pre-position relief supplies and respond rapidly to disasters in the region.
From all of us at WFP USA, thank you for your support and collaboration through another year.
We know 2025 will bring its challenges as crises persist and worsen. Yet, with you by our side, we’re staying hopeful and focused on our mission because together, we can end world hunger.
