Church Leaders, UN World Food Programme Discuss Global Concerns Of Food Scarcity
Oct 1, 2019, 8:05 AM
(Photo: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Leaders with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday met with the head of the United Nations World Food Programme to discuss concerns of global food scarcity.
According to a Church statement, Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, of the religion’s Presiding Bishopric, and Sister Sharon Eubank, president of Latter-day Saint Charities and member of the Relief Society general presidency, met with WFP Executive Director David Beasley at Welfare Square in Salt Lake City.
“We’re very grateful because they’re one of our largest partners of nongovernmental partners,” Beasley said. “We work together in many countries. We’ve talked about many other countries and many of the opportunities of how we can end hunger around the world.”
The leaders toured The Church’s Bishops’ Central Storehouse, where food and commodities are produced and shipped to people in need around the world. It’s with the WFP’s help that The Church is able to provide even more.
“They have a presence in places where we have no members of the Church, in places like Yemen, Somalia—places that are conflict-ridden,” said Eubank, who oversees the Church’s global humanitarian efforts. “The partnership is 5 or 6 years old, and it’s one of our most significant partners.”
According to the WFP, 821 million people go to bed hungry each night, and one in three people globally suffer from some form of malnutrition.
“By working with an organization like World Food Programme, which is just a phenomenal organization, what we can provide … reaches out farther than it would otherwise without someone like them,” Waddell said. “We’re grateful for the help that they provide.”