The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has given the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) US $32 million—the faith’s largest one-time contribution to a humanitarian organization—to help fight what the WFP calls a “seismic hunger crisis.”
During a visit on Wednesday at the World Food Programme’s headquarters in Rome, Bishop L. Todd Budge of the Presiding Bishopric presented the donation to WFP USA President and CEO Barron Segar and WFP Deputy Executive Director of Partnerships and Advocacy Ute Klamert.
“We are so grateful to collaborate with the World Food Programme because we know they will get food to those who need it most,” Bishop Budge said. “And we thank Latter-day Saints and friends of the faith whose financial sacrifices have made this gift possible. Such giving makes God’s children a little happier and all of us a little holier.”
The WFP will use the Church’s funds to provide food and other critical assistance to 1.6 million of the most vulnerable people—including mothers and young children—in nine countries: Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, northeast Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen.
“This extraordinary donation from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints could not come at a more critical time,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley. “With millions of people starving today, WFP is working hard to deliver food, help, and hope—and this life-saving contribution allows us to do just that.”
Read the full announcement about the Church’s donation on Newsroom.
