Photo: WFP/Tsiory Ny Aina Andriantsoarana

Our Top 10 Gift Picks: Save and Change Lives With World Food Program USA’S Hunger Relief Marketplace

World Food Program USA
Published December 23, 2022

Looking for a last-minute gift that gives back this holiday season? Help the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) save lives by finishing your holiday shopping through World Food Program USA’s new Hunger Relief Marketplace

When you buy a symbolic gift from the Marketplace, you help deliver lifesaving food and aid to people facing the most extreme forms of hunger imaginable. You can trust that your gift – whether it’s school meals or Super Cereal – will be used where it’s needed most. (You don’t have to take our word for it. See here why we’re a trustworthy organization.)

Solving world hunger may seem far beyond our control, but for a person whose only option for dinner is nothing, even the smallest gift means everything.

LIFESAVING FOOD AND CASH  

1) Feed a Family for 5 Days: Want to change a family’s life this winter? In the first days of an emergency, cooking supplies and equipment are often scarce. For $15 dollars, the U.N. World Food Programme could provide enough High-Energy Biscuits to feed a family of four for five days. These biscuits can be eaten straight out of the package and are fortified with more than 15 critical vitamins and minerals to stave off malnutrition.

Family sitting together and smiling

2) Two Emergency Food Boxes: Instead of rushing to wrap a giftbox, you could help the U.N. World Food Programme send two emergency boxes of food to families in need for $150. In crisis situations when people are entirely dependent on food assistance, the U.N. World Food Programme delivers boxes of shelf-stable foods that can feed a family of five for a month. The boxes contain grains like wheat flour or rice, fortified vegetable oil, iodized salt, and lentils, chickpeas or other beans.

family sitting with bags of food and containers of oil
Photo: WFP/Tsiory Ny Aina Andriantsoarana

CLIMATE CRISIS SOLUTIONS

3) Deliver climate information to farmers: As we have seen at home and abroad this year, climate disasters have become more frequent and intense. The U.N. World Food Programme uses a variety of high-tech equipment to anticipate these disasters and provide small-scale farmers with information ahead of time so they can prepare in advance. By supporting these early-warning systems with a gift of $25, you can enable the U.N. World Food Programme to help a farmer protect their crops, livestock and families.

woman holding peanuts in garden
Photo: WFP/Arete/Fredrik Lerneryd

4) Provide climate insurance: Did you know that more than 80% of the world’s hungriest people live in disaster-prone countries? Moreover, the vast majority of them do not have access to government-sponsored safety net programs like Medicare or food stamps. Your gift of $100 could help the U.N. World Food Programme invest in climate insurance and protect people’s farms and finances after disasters.

a woman carries a jug of water through flooded waters
Photo: WFP/Sayed Asif Mahmud

MALNUTRITION TREATMENT AND PREVENTION FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN

5) Treat a child with malnutrition: A visit to the salon for a holiday-themed manicure costs $40 on average, and nearly that same amount could restore a child’s health. For $32 dollars, the U.N. World Food Programme could send a three-month supply of ready-to-eat supplementary foods like PlumpySup to a malnourished child. This fortified peanut-based paste is packed with the nutrients needed to treat acute malnutrition in children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years.

Woman getting a manicure

6) Send a 6-month supply of Super Cereal: It’s never too late to give the gift of food. Super Cereal is made from staple ingredients like corn, wheat, soy, and rice and is fortified with essential vitamins and minerals. It can quickly be mixed with water to make a porridge and is specifically used to prevent malnutrition among pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and children older than 5. For $54 dollars, the U.N. World Food Programme could send a six-month supply to a mother or her child.

A mother smilies as she feeds her child

NUTRITIOUS SCHOOL MEALS 

7) 100 School meals: With a handful of dollars, you could help break the intergenerational cycle of hunger and poverty. For just $25, the U.N. World Food Programme could send a child enough school meals for half of their school year. These meals are an essential safety net that provide children with the nutrition they need for a healthy start in life.

Schoolchildren in pink and brown uniforms eating lunch

8) Keep girls in school: If you’re hoping to help end world hunger and fight gender inequality, consider putting your dollars towards this gift. Our school meals are a strong incentive for families to send their daughters to class. With $200, the U.N. World Food Programme could help keep four girls in the classroom for a year.

schoolgirls in white shirts gather for lunch
Photo: WFP/Hebatallah Munassar/2021

SKILLS TRAINING & INFRASTRUCTURE FOR FARMERS

9) 1 Medium grain silo: Farmers across the world are essential to eliminating hunger. But without access to modern storage equipment, they regularly lose up to 40% of their harvests to mold and pests. Our air-tight, tamper-proof silos can cut their losses to less than 2%. With $184, the U.N. World Food Programme could send a 1-ton plastic grain silo that will enable a family to safely store their hard-won crops.

A medium grain silo
Photo: WFP/Giulio d'Adamo/2018

10) Support a farmer for a year: If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to make a difference in the world, choose this gift to invest in small-scale farmers today. Without access to basic resources like training, fertilizer and equipment, millions of farmers are barely surviving this global hunger crisis. Your gift of $212 could help the U.N. World Food Programme provide relief to a farming family for an entire year.

Farmer in Ecuador holds up vegetables
Photo: WFP/Giulio d'Adamo/2021

From emergency boxes of food to school meals to sustainable energy supplies, World Food Program USA’s Hunger Relief Marketplace has a gift for everyone on your list. Together, through solutions like these, we can end world hunger. Visit our Hunger Relief Marketplace to browse more symbolic gifts and send lifesaving food today.

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If you prefer to give in-person, see if a Light the World Giving Machine is available near you this holiday season! These giving-focused vending machines – located in Washington, DC, Seattle, Washington and Orem, Utah – offer a unique way to support the U.N. World Food Programme’s work. Machines are available through Monday, January 2.

And if you’re still looking for more ways to get involved, check out our Action Center and support the U.N. World Food Programme year-round.