Join Us to Celebrate World Food Day
Today, there are more than 815 million hungry people in the world. Hunger is on the rise for the first time in 15 years, largely due to conflict. Food security is more important than ever.

The good news is that the world has made strides in improving global food security and nutrition over the past decade, which means more families have a path out of poverty in rural areas, more children are getting the nutrition they need for a healthy life, and more countries are moving toward a food-secure and more stable future.
We have an opportunity to make a lasting impact by investing in agriculture and building resilience. The old adage holds true: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. By investing in long-term solutions to food security today, we can reduce need in the future and help countries accelerate and protect progress. Partnerships have and will continue to be key to making this happen.

This World Food Day, Feed the Future will commemorate progress made in ending hunger, while highlighting the urgency of building resilience to make sure gains are not lost as challenging conditions arise.
Where Is Feed the Future This Week?
World Food Prize
We are at the World Food Prize this week to join other leaders in agriculture and food security for important discussions on rising to the challenge of global food security and to celebrate this year’s Laureates , Lawrence Haddad and David Nabarro.
Feed the Future’s Chief Scientist, Rob Bertram, will speak on the plenary about fall armyworm in Africa and our work to combat it on Wednesday, October 17, starting at 4:00 p.m. CDT.

If you are at the World Food Prize in person, be sure to stop by the Feed the Future booth!
United Nations
USAID Administrator Mark Green is meeting with the UN’s food security-focused agencies and participating in a roundtable, which is bringing together a broad range of actors to discuss the role of partnerships in achieving zero hunger. Together, we strive to help more families take the lead in their journey to self-reliance , ensure more women and children get the nutrition they need for a healthy life, and empower more countries to move toward a food-secure and more stable future so that the gains we have made are not lost when they are challenged.
Investing in Women-Owned Enterprises to Help End Hunger
Feed the Future knows that with women representing 40 percent of the sector’s labor force , women in agriculture are key drivers of rural economies. Helping female entrepreneurs gain greater access to finance and other business inputs is critical to promoting inclusive growth. Last November, at the 2017 Global Entrepreneurship Summit, we launched the Accelerating Women Entrepreneurs Award to help women in Africa take their businesses to the next level, and we are pleased to announce the Prize winners!
What Students Are Saying About Helping #EndHunger
We teamed up with Agrilinks and the Feed the Future Innovation Labs during Feed the Future Week to launch the Young Scholars Food Security Blog Contest. We wanted to hear from students and invite them to share their personal insights, ideas or research findings on global food security and agriculture in the development context. We received many impressive entries and are excited to announce the winners.
In Case You Missed It
Reauthorization of the Global Food Security Act 
The Global Food Security Reauthorization Act of 2017 was signed into law by President Trump on October 11 after being passed by Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support. This law, which reauthorizes the Global Food Security Act for an additional five years, sends a strong message that America is continuing its commitment to tackling the root causes of hunger through Feed the Future. 
Expanding Our University Partnerships
Feed the Future’s 22 Innovation Labs have made incredible progress. Together, they use cutting-edge science to develop and scale up effective tools and technologies to address challenges to feeding a growing population with safe and nutritious food, both at home and abroad. So far this year, we’ve extended five and announced two new partnerships to continue to leverage U.S. universities’ skills and expertise to protect and accelerate progress in an increasingly complex world.

The partnerships are:

The #EndHunger Conversation
A big thank you to our partners for taking the time to add your voices to last month’s Feed the Future Week by including #endhunger in your on social media posts or sharing a #endhunge r card. The campaign garnered strong engagement on social media and we went further with your support. And the same can be said about the fight against hunger, which is what Feed the Future Week was all about -- celebrating partnerships that are rising to the challenge to end hunger worldwide. Check out the highlights from the week .
Photo Credits: Feature Image – Sopheak, Technology Park Phnom Penh;
Women-Owned Enterprises – ReelFruit and Rockland Farms
Feed the Future is the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative.