The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Supports WFP’s School Meals Program in Haiti

NEW YORK CITY – Today, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed a contribution of $8 million from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints towards WFP’s homegrown school meals program in Haiti. The announcement came at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2024 Annual Meeting taking place in New York City, where it was featured as a new CGI Commitment to Action.

The grant from the Church to World Food Program USA will support WFP’s ongoing work with local governments and partners in Haiti’s Artibonite and Centre departments to scale up school meals that use food from local smallholder farmers.

“Building on more than a decade of work together, the Church continues to serve as an essential collaborator, supporting WFP’s global operations during emergencies, while simultaneously stepping up to build community resilience,” said Barron Segar, World Food Program USA President and CEO. “In addition to supporting work on the ground in Haiti, we are grateful for the Church’s generosity in helping us serve thousands of people in other countries around the world this year, as we combat the world’s global hunger crisis.”

In Haiti, half of the population is struggling to find enough to eat — one of the highest proportions of acute food insecurity worldwide. Homegrown school meals serve as an opportunity to provide much-needed nutrition to children and to support their education, while sourcing food locally supports local economies and ensures sustainability of the program. In the upcoming 2024/25 school year, WFP is planning to provide school meals to nearly 500,000 students, 70% of which will be made entirely with Haitian-grown ingredients purchased from local farmers.

“As followers of Jesus Christ, we strive to care for those in need as He would,” said Blaine R. Maxfield, Managing Director of the Church’s Welfare and Self-Reliance Services. “These efforts in Haiti will help ensure that children have access to the nutrition they need to focus on their education, while at the same time strengthening communities by sourcing meals locally.”

As a longstanding collaborator of WFP, in 2024 alone, the Church has generously supported food assistance in multiple countries across the globe — from delivering emergency food in Ukraine and Nigeria, to feeding schoolchildren and ensuring mothers and their newborn children have access to the right nutrients in Chad, Ecuador, Cuba, Guinea, Honduras and Peru.

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About WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change. Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, via @wfp_media.

About World Food Program USA  

World Food Program USA, a 501(c)(3) organization based in Washington, DC, proudly supports the mission of the United Nations World Food Programme by mobilizing American policymakers, businesses and individuals to advance the global movement to end hunger. Our leadership and support help to bolster an enduring American legacy of feeding families in need around the world. To learn more, please visit wfpusa.org.

For more information please contact:

Toula Athas, World Food Program USA; tathas@wfpusa.org

Tanya Birkbeck, WFP/ Port-au-Prince; Tel. +509 3735 4333