TORONTO, October 4, 2011 /Canada NewsWire/ - Canadian Feed The Children (CFTC) has launched its first annual World Food Party to raise awareness of and funds for the alleviation of world hunger. Individuals, groups and organizations across Canada are hosting food-related events in recognition of UN World Food Day (October 16th, 2011) and donating the funds raised to CFTC's nutrition, health and food security programs in Canada and around the world.
The Canadian Electrical Industry has been on board the World Food Party bus since 2008. The industry's charitable initiative, Hungry for Change, has raised close to $900,000 through events and donations generated by participating companies in the industry.
This year, Electro-Federation Canada has named Canadian Feed The Children its charity of choice. Hungry for Change Committee Chair, Wayne Donaldson, says "as an industry that is all about providing Canadians with electricity to make their homes and lives brighter, warmer and safer, we are well aware how very fortunate we are. Not everyone in the world has the same level of access to these life-sustaining necessities. Especially this year, as the famine in the Horn of Africa reminds us, there are millions of people at risk and experiencing hunger - most of them children. This is our industry's way to give back, make a difference and have some fun in the process."
Hunger is the world's number one health risk - above malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis combined. Last year alone, 925 million people experienced chronic hunger. And of the one in seven people who go to bed hungry each night, most are children and vulnerable women (UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 2010).
"CFTC's World Food Party is a way to rally Canadians to make a meaningful change in the lives of children. We're aiming to have 10,000 Canadians participate - in big or little ways. Even a simple individual act like brown-bagging your lunch and donating what you would have spent dining out for a week can make a huge difference in the life of a vulnerable child," said Debra Kerby, Executive Director of Canadian Feed The Children.
For information on CFTC's World Food Party and to check out some ideas for getting involved, visit www.WorldFoodParty.ca. To learn more about the programs CFTC funds in Haiti, Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda, Bolivia and Canada, please visit www.CanadianFeedTheChildren.ca.
Founded in Canada in 1986, Canadian Feed The Children is an independent, registered Canadian charity that works with local partners in Canada and around the world to reduce the impact of poverty on children and enhance the well-being of children and the self-sufficiency of their families and communities.
