Sustainable Development Goal #2: Zero Hunger

This project is the second out of the 17 SDGs, and has become a goal that focuses on healthy lives and promoting well-being. The unveiling for SDG 2 is expected to take place on September 23rd on Hunger Action Day. 

About the sponsor:

Giant Foods has over 150 stores, all with a commitment to sustainability. Giant Foods is committed to developing a program that enables customers to shop based on personal preferences such as using less plastic, ensuring humane treatment of animals, finding products free from chemicals of concern and much more. Giant Foods aims to lead the industry in traceability and is focused on driving clear transparency in the supply chain.

• Sponsor of the project: Giant Foods
• Artist(s): TBD
• Grantee: Philabundance

About:

In 1984 Philabundance was founded by an idealist named Pamela Rainey Lawler who saw perfectly good food going to waste, and, at the same time, saw people going hungry. What started out as a small food rescue organization operating out of a Subaru, 30+ years later, is an innovative, impactful and collaborative organization distributing millions of pounds of food a year to those in need. Philabundance is a proud member of Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks leading the fight against hunger in the United States.   

To learn more about Philabundance, visit https://www.philabundance.org.

• Location of the painting: TBD

After decades of steady decline, the number of people who suffer from hunger – as measured by the prevalence of undernourishment – began to slowly increase again in 2015. Current estimates show that nearly 690 million people are hungry, or 8.9 percent of the world population – up by 10 million people in one year and by nearly 60 million in five years. The world is not on track to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030.

If recent trends continue, the number of people affected by hunger would surpass 840 million by 2030. According to the World Food Programme, 135 million suffer from acute hunger largely due to man-made conflicts, climate change and economic downturns. The COVID-19 pandemic could now double that number, putting an additional 130 million people at risk of suffering acute hunger by the end of 2020.

With more than a quarter of a billion people potentially at the brink of starvation, swift action needs to be taken to provide food and humanitarian relief to the most at-risk regions. At the same time, a profound change of the global food and agriculture system is needed if we are to nourish the more than 690 million people who are hungry today – and the additional 2 billion people the world will have by 2050. Increasing agricultural productivity and sustainable food production are crucial to help alleviate the perils of hunger."

Source: United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, SDG#2 Zero Hunger

To learn more about SDG #2, please visit the United Nations' website.