1. Hunger and Food Security
What is it?
Ask the class…
What does it feel like to be hungry? (tired, frustrated, weak…) Imagine feeling that all the time. It would be hard to go to school, help out at home, or even play with friends if that’s how you felt.
When we talk about hunger around the world we are not just thinking about the day-to-day hunger pains we feel between meals, but also the broader issues at play, like not knowing when your next meal will come, or having to make critical decisions on what to sacrifice and how to cope. Should a family skip meals or reduce portion sizes? Should they sell their livestock and other assets? But then what will they be left with if things get worse? Should they send their children to school or purchase food?

2. Food Security:
“When all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (World Food Summit, 1996)
(Read the definition of food security). It is not just about having enough food, but there are many aspects to food security, including:
Access: Though food may be available, there may be barriers to economic, physical, and even social access of food.
Ex) Economic: Not having enough money to purchase food; Physical: Not having a road leading to the market to buy and sell foods; Social: Men and children eat first and because you are a women you eat reduced quantities or less nutritional food   Availability: Relates to the supply of food available (“sufficient” food). Ex) A drought affects the ability of a country to grow enough food. If that drought is regional, reduced opportunities for trade may also affect the supply of food that is available to people.   Utilization: Refers to the ways the body makes use of the food and the nutrients in it, and the hygiene and sanitation needed to do so. Ex) Utilization and nutritional status can be affected by how the food is prepared or by dietary diversity (the mix of foods and the food groups consumed).   Stability: Although you may have food today, various issues such as poor weather conditions, political instability, or changes to food prices may mean that you will not have enough food in the future. Ex) For many farmers in developing countries, there are “lean months” between one harvest to the next, resulting in limited food consumption. If bad weather delays the planting or harvest of their crops, these lean months may force them into hunger.

3. Where is Hunger?
When we talk about ending global hunger, we mean ensuring food security for everyone.
(Ask the class) Where is hunger? (The darker red in this map indicates places with higher rates of malnutrition.)
Is there hunger in Canada? Yes! This is why we have local food banks. Hunger is everywhere!
The difference is that people who are hungry in most developing countries, are not receiving help and support they need. There are more cases of “extreme poverty” in developing countries, meaning that people are living on less than
$1.90 a day. Imagine you were a parent who had to pay house fees, school fees, and medical fees for your family with less than $1.90 a day. It might be difficult to also get enough food. Hunger is closely linked to poverty.
The vast majority of hungry people–roughly 97%–live in developing countries. Children, women, and rural communities are most at risk for hunger.
Of the 795 million people in the world who are undernourished (not eating enough for basic calorie consumption):
512 million live in Asia (12% of the population);
233 million live in Africa (20% of the population);
34 million live in Latin America and the Caribbean (5% of the population); and
1.4 million live in Oceania (14% of the population);
14 million live in developed countries.

4. Current Hunger Emergencies
There are about 795 million people in the world that are currently hungry. This is about 22 times the population of Canada that is hungry!
The number of hungry people has been declining worldwide, however it is increasing in certain areas of the world, largely as a result of conflict.
Refer to: for a list of current hunger emergencies based on current events. Point out, on the map provided, where those countries are located.
What are the main causes of these hunger emergencies? How do these factors affect peoples access, availability, utilization, and stability of food?
Canadian Foodgrains Bank provides food assistance (wet or dry food, vouchers, or cash) to people in hunger emergencies.

5. Why are People Hungry? Poverty Conflict
Natural disasters and environmental degradation
Inequality
Fluctuating food prices
Unjust policies
(Ask the class) What are some of the causes of hunger that we’ve discussed in this presentation so far? Think about where hunger is… (We talked about poverty, conflict, and from the current hunger emergencies you may have read about natural hazards or weather and climate events such as drought).
The causes of hunger are complex and often interlinked. Some of the primary causes include:
·        Poverty: Poverty and hunger often work cyclically. When someone is poor, they are likely to be malnourished. If they are malnourished they may have more difficulty working effectively for an income, doing well in school to better their future, or engaging in community development. This may negatively impact their income, support systems, and future outcomes, which results in greater poverty. Chronic hunger which is often linked to poverty, describes the vast majority of hunger cases in the world and is often characterized by malnutrition. It is not always a visible form of hunger. Canadian Foodgrains Bank provides nutritional programming targeting pregnant and nursing mothers to ensure they get the support they need.
Why do you think nutrition is particularly important for women? It is important that a child receives proper nutrition in their first 1000 days of life so that their development (physical and mental) is not poorly affected.
·        Conflict: Conflict interrupts normal life, causing displacement, stress, illness and injury, and prevents people from providing food for themselves. For people who depend on farming to earn a livelihood, it means being forced from their land and from a source of income and food and it can be difficult to find affordable food to purchase. ·        Natural disasters and environmental degradation: Changing weather patterns and extreme weather events, including climate change, are disrupting the production of food around the world. The exploitation of natural resources and unsustainable farming practices increase the land and soil degradation and exacerbate the effects of climate change. ·        Inequality: Various groups of people around the world do not have the same level of access to resources such as loans, land, and information that others do. This may be based on ethnicity, social status, race, or gender. For example, although women make up nearly half of the agricultural labour force, they only receive 5% of agricultural training services in 97 countries of the world. ·        Fluctuating Food Prices: Food prices can rise and fall quite dramatically. As food prices rise, the world’s poorest people are hit the hardest since they can spend up to 75 percent of their income on food. When food prices fall, such as when foreign subsidies are introduced to a region, food producers can have a hard time making enough money on sales to support the inputs they need for production. ·        Unjust policies: Sometimes rules about how food and other resources are shared (such as through aid, trade, or environmental policies) can make things more difficult for people who experience chronic hunger.

6. Most hungry people are farmers
70% of the world’s hungry people are farmers. Most of these are small-scale farmers. These are very different than the majority of Canadian farmers who have been areas of land and lots of equipment and machinery, and who sell most if not all of what they harvest for money. Small-scale farming is much more common in developing countries. These farmers have small plots of land, very little equipment and machinery if any, and use most of the foods they harvest for consumption, selling any extra they have for money.

7. Why are farmers hungry?
Climate and weather: erratic rainfall, drought, and natural hazards
Land degradation or lack of ownership
Poor infrastructure
Lack of access to agricultural support
Why is that the people who are producing food are hungry?
There are many reasons that may contribute to a farmer being hungry, including:
Climate/Weather patterns: Natural hazards, flooding or drought
Land degradation and/or lack of land ownership: In many countries it is difficult for people to own land so they cannot always control or access what grows on it and may be underpaid for their work. This is particularly true for women who represent nearly half of the agricultural workforce. Many small-scale farmers only have access to marginal lands with are prone to problems such as erosion, lack of irrigation (water), and soil degradation (caused by overuse or misuse of the land).
Poor infrastructure: Such as roads or transportation to access markets, irrigation, etc.
Lack of access to agricultural support: tools, equipment, seeds, education/training
If a farmer in Canada had a poor harvest one year, do you think they would starve? Why not?
Farmers in Canada have various support systems to ensure they don’t suffer if their crops do poorly such as crop insurance and access to financial institutions (loans, savings, etc.), which most small-scale farmers in developing countries do not have.
Canadian Foodgrains Bank supports small scale farmers through agriculture and livelihoods programming which includes training to adapt to changing climate patterns and promote good soil health, infrastructure such as sand dams which provide irrigation, and providing basic inputs such as seeds and tools

8. What can WE do to END HUNGER?
LEARN
Check out:
ADVOCATE
Share what you know and tell decision-makers that you care
GIVE
REFLECT
How you can make a smaller footprint, and contribute to food security through your everyday actions???
Brainstorm with your class…
Learn: About certain aspects of food security (e.g. conflict, climate change, women, etc.), stay on top of current events and hunger emergencies…
Advocate: Plan a presentation to other students or family, plan a Harvest of Letters event, ( meet with your MP and learn about the importance of advocacy
Give: Think of creative ways to fundraise for an organization which works to end hunger (plants a garden and sell veggies or soup, host a ration meal dinner ( volunteer at a local food bank
Pray: Pray for those who are less fortunate, visit for ideas
Are there other ways you can support food security? E.g. reduce food waste, recycle, buy local, fair trade, or ethically sourced products…