To FEED or Not to FEED?

By Lauren Bush, Guest Writer

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Posted: 9/9/09

To FEED or not to FEED? I believe this is one of the most basic yet essential questions the world faces today. The numbers are staggering: 963 million people are undernourished, 907 million of whom live in developing countries; 25,000 people die each day of hunger and related causes, equating to one child dying every six seconds from hunger; and hunger kills more people than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. These statistics are real, and millions more people around the world struggle daily to find food for themselves and for their families.

In my life, and I would dare to guess in your lives too, food has always been in abundance. From as early as I can remember, the grocery store trips with my mom, legs dangling through those uncomfortable metal grocery cart seats-food was everywhere in quantities that seemed impossible to consume. The amount of choices has always overwhelmed me-colorful cereal brands, whole grain bread, white, rye, sourdough, pre-washed, pre-cut, low-fat, no-fat, vitamin-enriched, bla, bla, bla… But, little could I comprehend when I was a little tike what an amazing luxury the access to all this food was. (Of course, too much food marketing and too many grocery store choices mean that food is over processed and not in its purest, most healthful form, but that is another rampage for another article.)

Now, fast forward. I am a college sophomore, and the UN World Food Program (WFP) has asked me to join them on a trip to determine whether I could get involved in trying to help start their Student's Fighting World Hunger Campaign. Before becoming involved, I wanted to understand the problem of hunger and to see it firsthand. They took me to Guatemala, a short flight from the US. In Guatemala we visited rural villages, where families received monthly food rations of cooking oil, rice, flour, and other basic necessities. We visited hospitals, where kids on the brink of starvation were given life-saving Plumpy'Nut treatments, a high-energy vitamin-packed paste. We visited farms, where farmers received seeds and temporary food in order to set up their irrigations systems, so they could provide for their families. And, we visited schools, where kids queued with little plastic bowls to receive their lunch meals, a nutrient-packed porridge; for many this was the only meal they would receive all day-the reason they would go to school and obtain an education. This first trip with WFP opened my eyes to the realities of poverty and hunger that people face around the world.

Since this initial trip, I have visited nine other countries: Honduras, Chad, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Lesotho, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia. Each country has a different culture and history, yet poverty and hunger persist in varying degrees and for varying reasons. The trips I took to the "field" (as UN aid workers call it) were transformational and inspiring; however, I couldn't help but feel guilty that I was personally getting more out of these trips than I was giving back. Upon my return to America, I would share my experiences with my friends and peers, but I felt disempowered. Many students wanted to become involved and do something to help in the fight against world hunger, but I didn't know what to tell them to do beyond donating money (which we all know is a bit hard to come by as a student) or literally moving to Africa and joining the Peace Corps. Thus, from this frustration the idea for the FEED bag was born.

In 2005 I conceived the simple idea of creating a bag that would feed the world. I thought I could use my love for design to create a way for people to give back, to empower them to make a difference. Change was not going to come from one person doing something big; rather, from many doing small things. So, why not a bag? By attaching a measurable donation to the product, each person who buys a bag would help not only by raising money but also by raising awareness while carrying the bag. I realized how inexpensive it really was to feed a child in school for a year through WFP's School Feeding Initiative. Accordingly, I developed the initial "FEED 1" bag to feed one child in school for a year. Other FEED bags have followed, providing different increments of donation to school feeding and other programs that are making a substantial difference.

Over the next two years, FEED transformed from a simple idea into a for-profit social business. I teamed up with Ellen Gustafson, who was working at the UN World Food Program, and we established FEED Projects LLC to begin producing and selling bags to raise money. Two-and-a-half years later, we are still doing just that, partnering with retailers like Whole Foods, Barnes & Noble, Harrods, and many more. The "hunger" for FEED bags has resulted in our selling over 500,000 bags and raising enough money to distribute over 50,000,000 meals.

For me the question is simple: to FEED or not to FEED? YES, we must FEED! Start FEEDing the world today by buying a FEED bag at www.FEEDProjects.org or volunteering at a local soup kitchen. You can also make a donation to the FEED Foundation at www.theFEEDfoundation.org. There are many complexities in the global food system that need to be addressed before we solve the issue of world hunger, but in the meantime it is our privilege and our duty to FEED those who are hungry! Thanks for your support, Cornell!

Social entrepreneur Lauren Bush is the CEO, Creative Director and co-Founder of FEED Projects LLC and the Chairwoman of the Board of the FEED Foundation.