Food Security Ukraine Project #60951

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

by A Well-Fed World

Project Report | Nov 2, 2026
Using the Holidays to Support Plants-4-Hunger!

By Ashley Capps | Project Leader

It's Fall, and that means lots of holidays centered around food are on the horizon. We recently marked Hunger Action Month and World Food Day by raising awareness about the climate and food security solutions of plant-based foods and feeding projects. In September, A Well-Fed World celebrated our seventeenth birthday in conjunction with Hunger Action Month. This year’s Hunger Action theme was "Play Your Part," highlighting the role individual actions play in reducing global hunger and meaningfully improving food security for all. Our new page on Hunger Action explores these connections, as well as how you can play your part by choosing a plant-based diet, educating others, and supporting plant-based hunger relief.

Then October 16 was World Food Day, the UN's annual day devoted to raising awareness about important food and hunger issues. This year's theme was "Innovate Today, Nourish Tomorrow"—but as we explain in this blog post, we don't need to reinvent the food system to better feed the world. Plant-based diets and culinary traditions have long existed, and they feed far more people far more affordably, healthfully, and sustainably, drastically reducing harms to people, animals, and the environment.

That's why at A Well-Fed World, our global hunger relief program is 100% plant-based. Whether stocking plant-based food pantries in the face of cuts to SNAP, helping vegan mutual aid groups provide groceries to immigrant neighbors sheltering in place, or mobilizing our disaster relief fund to support plant-based food aid and animal rescue in Nepal and other areas impacted by disaster; the need for our Plants-4-Hunger program has never been greater. As we move into end-of-year giving—our most important fundraising time of year—we encourage those who can to take action for hunger by making a donation to Plants-4-Hunger or by helping us grow our GEMs Giving Circle of monthly donors.

And with the holiday gifting season around the corner, remember, a gift to Plants-4-Hunger is the perfect gift to give and receive. If you donate on behalf of someone else, we will mail them a personalized card letting them know you made a gift in their honor (if an address is provided), or you can send a custom e-card at the end of your donation. And if you celebrate Thanksgiving, consider putting out a donation jar and inviting your guests to give thanks by helping grow your GivingTuesday donation to Plants-4-Hunger. Learn more about how you can use special days or events in your life to support Plants-4-Hunger, here.

As always, thank you for being such a crucial part of our work to create a world that is healthy, well-fed, and kind...all at the same time. We truly couldn't do it without you.

Yours in gratitude,

The A Well-Fed World Team

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Jun 24, 2026
Why Plant-Based Hunger Relief Is Crucial

By Ashley Capps | Project Leader

There are so many reasons a shift to more plant-based hunger relief is critical, from climate mitigation to natural resource conservation to global food security. Our recent blog post for World Hunger Day explores these, as well an important but frequently overlooked reason. Here's an excerpt:

"If we combine the different categories of food-related assistance programs worldwide—including school feeding programs, famine relief rations, food stamps and other government welfare vouchers, free meal programs, community food banks, subsidized staple foods, and direct food distribution from humanitarian organizations and charities— an estimated 10-20% of the global population receive some form of food aid at any given time.

Given the global scale of these numbers, it’s important to consider that food aid doesn’t just address a present need for nourishment; it also shapes future consumption patterns.

To give one example, the many hunger charities promoting "send a cow" and "give a goat" programs that “gift” live animals to families experiencing poverty may appear to just focus on small-scale animal farming, but they have extremely large-scale implications that pave the way for industrial or “factory” farming, and exponentially increase consumption of meat, dairy, and eggs throughout entire countries.

Even more inlfluentially, under the guise of increasing food security, Western development banks, private investors, and multinational agribusiness corporations have played a major role in accelerating meat and dairy production and consumption in Asia and the Global South. This transformation is now referred to as the “Livestock Revolution.”

Critics and analysts maintain that people in lower-income countries did not just “naturally” begin consuming more meat and dairy as incomes rose. Rather, global lenders, corporate investors, and development institutions with pro-meat biases and vested interests actively helped build the infrastructure, supply chains, and consumer markets that made large-scale increases in meat and dairy consumption possible.

These forces not only increase the consumption of animal-sourced foods; they significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions and environmental strain, often in regions already experiencing land degradation and scarcity, water stress and scarcity, and increased weather disasters such as drought and flooding due to climate change."

Read more at our blog post, which we hope will reaffirm how vital your support of our Plants-4-Hunger project is. Thank you so much for being a critical part of this important work. We truly couldn't do it without you.

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Jan 15, 2026
Plants-4-Hunger featured in Int'l Business Times!

By Ashley Capps | Project Leader

A Well-Fed World was thrilled for our Plants-4-Hunger program to be featured in International Business Times last month! In the feature, our founder and president Dawn Moncrief explains the reasons behind her creation of our plant-based hunger relief program that feeds people in need while protecting animals and the planet. You can read the full piece here, which we share a short excerpt from below.

"Every holiday season, I watch well-intentioned donors search for meaningful ways to address hunger. One of the more popular options is the "gift" of live farm animals to families in low-income countries. The imagery is powerful: smiling children hugging goats and cows, donors reassured they are giving something tangible and lasting. For many years, this narrative went largely unquestioned. But after two decades of working in hunger relief and climate advocacy, I believe this model does far more harm than good, and that plant-based giving offers a more effective, transparent, and compassionate alternative.

Concerns about livestock gifting are not fringe opinions. Prominent charity evaluators, food-security NGOs, and even Jane Goodall have urged donors to reconsider animal-based aid and explore more sustainable approaches. Those warnings reflect realities I have seen repeatedly: animals introduced into food-insecure regions require far more resources than most people realize, and the burden often falls on families already struggling to feed themselves."

We hope this feature about Plants-4-Hunger reminds you of the importance of plant-based hunger relief and inspires you to keep supporting.

For a more in-depth look at the harms of animal gifting campaigns, please check out our No Animal Gifting resource, which is regularly updated.

As always, thank you so much for your crucial role in our work to create a world that is healthy, well-fed, and kind...all at the same time.

P.S. Remember, sharing is caring; consider sharing the International Business Times feature on your social media platforms...you can also share directly from our Facebook and Instagram!

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