Food Security Ukraine Project #60951

Plants-4-Hunger: Feed People, Protect the Planet

by A Well-Fed World

Project Report | Apr 18, 2024
Why Plants-4-Hunger Matters for Earth Day

By Ashley Capps | Project Leader

With Earth Day just around the corner, we wanted to remind you that your generous support of Plants-4-Hunger not only nourishes people in need, it also helps protect the planet in a myriad of important ways.

Countless studies affirm the crucial role of plant-based diets in addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, and pandemic risk. A study published by renowned scientists last year found that removing animals from the food system could offset the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions by 68%, while a meta-analysis by Oxford researchers— described as the most comprehensive study ever undertaken to measure the environmental impacts of consumer dietary patterns— found that plant-based diets produce a whopping 75 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions, generate 75 percent less water pollution, and use 75 percent less land than meat-rich diets. According to the researchers, fully plant-based diets significantly outperform all other diets in terms of impacts, with nearly half the carbon footprint of vegetarian diets.

In 2022, the world's leading body of climate scientists, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), urged a switch to plant-based diets as the single most important shift individuals can make to halt the course of climate disasters. Another major UN report, Preventing the Next Pandemic, identifies increased demand for animal-based foods as one of the leading drivers of zoonotic diseases and pandemics, as livestock production is the single greatest cause of global deforestation, habitat loss and biodiversity loss. UN experts recommend a shift toward more plant-based diets as "key to saving pristine ecosystems... restoring biodiversity, boosting carbon sequestration and lowering the risk of future pandemics."

Plant-based foods and farming systems are a win-win-win for people, animals, and the planet. This Earth Day and every day, thank you for supporting our mission to feed the most people with the least harm, and to create a world that is healthy, well-fed, and kind…all at the same time.

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Dec 21, 2023
Plants-4-Hunger GlobalGiving Report 2023

By Ashley Capps | Project Leader

Plant-Based School Meal Program, Ethiopia

A Well-Fed World was thrilled to be accepted onto the GlobalGiving platform in 2023, helping our Plants-4-Hunger projects reach a new audience who might otherwise never learn about our work, or understand the critical importance of plant-based hunger relief. The United Nations has urged that we will need to produce 70% more food by 2050 without using any more land. According to the UN, we could feed a staggering 3.5 billion more people simply by growing crops for human consumption on land currently used to grow feed for livestock. Our Plants-4-Hunger program funds plant-based feeding, farming and disaster relief food aid projects around the world that feed more people using far less land, water, and energy, while protecting animals, ecosystems, and the climate.

#GivingTuesday marked our first big fundraising campaign using the GlobalGiving platform and we were blown away by the generous support we received from so many compassionate donors. With your help, we met our ambitious GivingTuesday goal of raising $10,000 for Plants-4-Hunger. We’re thrilled that so many people felt inspired to support plant-based feeding projects, and are excited to share a few highlights of the work you are helping Plants-4-Hunger support.

In April of this year, on World Pulses Day, we launched the Planetary Pulse Project, a collaboration with our partner Seed Programs International to distribute free or low cost organic legume seeds (pulses) to farmers and growers in need around the world. Pulses are one of the most planet-friendly foods on earth and include thousands of varieties of protein-packed beans, peas, and lentils. They are also one of the most nutritious and climate-resilient sources of protein available, and are already a staple in traditional cuisines around the world. They can be grown on so-called marginal land in inhospitable conditions; they are extremely water efficient, often grown as rainfed crops without irrigation; and they regenerate soil, improving soil formation and biodiversity, and promoting higher rates of soil carbon sequestration. Additionally, their ability to fix nitrogen means they reduce or even eliminate the need for synthetic fertilizers.

Through the Planetary Pulse Project, 33,310 packets of legume seeds were distributed to farmers and growers in need in 5 countries. Recipients included 4 schools in Zimbabwe, a hospital farm in Haiti, a community of Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria, two women farmers’ cooperatives in Uganda, and an urban community garden in Queens, New York. See the attached photos as well as the full Planetary Pulse Project report. Our partners said the legume seeds were such a success, and in such high demand, they would love to scale up the project next year with our funding support. To that end, we'll be uploading a dedicated Planetary Pulse Project page on GlobalGiving in January, and hope you’ll consider contributing! Or feel free to give to Plants-4-Hunger before then and include a note or comment if you’d like to specify support for the Planetary Pulse Project.

This year Plants-4-Hunger also sponsored a record number of nourishing meals for children in need through our Plant-Based School Meals Program. In Ethiopia, through our partner International Fund for Africa, we funded distribution of 180,000 meals to 500 children in 5 primary schools in Addis Ababa. The meals are traditional Ethiopian cuisine and include protein-packed lentils, vegetables, and bread. And in Nepal, through our partner Magic Marble Foundation, we funded distribution of 7,000 hearty meals of rice, daal lentils, and mixed vegetable curry to children in schools and orphanages, as well as unhoused community members.

Finally, Plants-4-Hunger’s Disaster Relief Fund has supported the distribution of 50,000 plant-based meals to displaced Ukrainian citizens and refugees since the start of the current conflict with Russia. Meals are prepared and distributed by Ukrainian volunteers at Lviv Vegan Kitchen, Vegan Kitchen Ukraine, and Polish chapters of Food Not Bombs where refugees have fled. Our support is ongoing and in addition to meals, our Disaster Relief Fund also assisted Lviv Vegan Kitchen in the purchase of a van for the long drives to and from Poland for food supplies.

These are just a few of the many life-affirming projects A Well-Fed World’s Plants-4-Hunger program was able to support with your assistance. Thank you so much for your generosity and compassion, and for sharing and supporting our vision for a world that is healthy, well-fed, and kind…all at the same time.

Lviv Vegan Kitchen volunteers, Ukraine

Meals for refugees, Vegan Kitchen Ukraine

Seed recipient, Planetary Pulse Project, Uganda

Plant-Based School Meal Program, Nepal

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Planetary Pulse Project full report (PDF)

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