We Feed Back

So… what’s all this about We Feed Back?

Hi Family and Friends,

So if you’ve been on my facebook, or seen me on gchat, you’ll notice a LOT about something called We Feed Back. You’re probably wondering what is this and why is Dana making a big deal about it? It’s a new initiative my organization World Food Programme is launching to increase awareness and engagement in world hunger. It shows that by each of us doing a little, we can achieve a lot!

So what is it? Social networking for social good.

How it works:

It's easy: You choose your favorite food, put it into the Feedback Calculator along with the estimated cost, and then calculate how many hungry children this would feed. The next step is to donate exactly that amount. Or, if you want, you donate multiples of that amount. In this way you feedback more portions of your favorite food.

At this point you are a member of the WeFeedback community. But in order to participate fully, there is another step: share details of your favorite food and your feedback with others. You can do this through your networks, if you ask them to join WeFeedback. They then ask their networks and before you know it, we have thousands of people like you using their networking skills to raise awareness for a great cause.

The power of food

We're taking a new approach to fighting hunger that is social, fun and focused on the positive. We believe food is an amazing force: It is a giver of life, a canvas for creativity and a catalyst for our social lives. If together we can harness the exuberance, creativity and sense of identity people associate with food, we can tap into a powerful positive force for change.

That's why the WeFeedback community is focused on a common love of food and the possibilities it creates to improve lives. If we can do that, then we can do a world of good.

Beating hunger:

WeFeedback is a social media initiative of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the world's largest humanitarian organization (which is where I work!). Each year, WFP brings food to 90 million people so they can move on with their lives, receive an education, find employment and create a better life for their families.

So… who benefits?
We Feed Back benefits school children around the world.
How?

WFP provides school meals to an average of 22 million children each year in 60 countries. Why? Because providing a nutritious meal to children in school is one of the best ways of breaking the cycle of hunger that traps nearly a billion people globally. Here are four things that make school meals such a powerful tool:

1. Incredibly cost-effective: In regions that suffer from hunger, school meals play a vital role in breaking the hunger-poverty cycle. Children only get meals if they go to school regularly. In many programs, attendance also earns a take-home ration that will help sustain the child’s family as well. Just US$5 will provide one month of school meals for a child.

2. Gets poor kids into school: Education takes a very low priority when a family is hungry. Poor households are often obliged to choose between sending the kids to school or to work in fields, streets, factories or sweatshops. With school meals, parents do not have to make that choice. School becomes the best option for securing food. This also helps gender equality in cultures that do not typically educate girls since parents are eager for their girls to attend school for the food benefits.

3. Breaks the cycle of poverty: When children are forced to work, they grow up without an education or proper nutrition, thus increasing the likelihood that they will remain poor and have to keep their children home from school as well. This is how poverty perpetuates itself. School meals break this cycle by giving both kids and parents a chance to focus beyond the next meal and achieve their potential.

4. Creates a sustainable solution: Whenever possible, the food used in these programs is bought locally, helping to boost the local economy. Once a program is running smoothly, our aim is to hand over the program and let it be run locally. In fact, over the past 45 years, WFP has handed over school meal programs to 42 countries where the programs continue to thrive.

Why does all of this matter? That’s easy. Because making the world a better place starts with food. Food fuels education. Food fuels free choice. Food fuels economic independence. Food fuels peace. That’s why WeFeedback and WFP are determined to break the cycle of hunger. We need your support.

It would mean a lot to me if you would check it out! Join my network at http://www.wefeedback.org/supporters/dana-vettel or donate directly from the widget on my blog! Help spread the word about hunger and see how easy it is to help make a difference!



***Source: We Feed Back and WFP websites***