The Evangelical Alliance Relief Fund

PRESS RELEASE

15 October 2009
Spare a few dollars on World Food Day

As food aid falls to the lowest levels in 20 years and malnourishment rates climb dramatically, Kiwis are being urged to consider the plight of children and the vulnerable in developing nations this World Food Day (October 16).

TEAR Fund NZ acting executive director Jon Horne said, “There’s no doubt that Kiwis have been affected by the global credit crunch and individuals and governments alike have tightened spending. However, we need to ask ourselves if we have been affected, how much more are those living on the poverty line been affected.”

He said, “World Food Day is an opportunity for New Zealanders to spend a few dollars less on their weekly groceries and give to those who are struggling to feed their families.” A little goes a long way, he said

There are now an estimated 1.02 billion malnourished people in the world with an estimated increase of 105 million hungry people this year alone, he said. “This means that almost one sixth of all humanity is suffering from hunger.”

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Mr Horne said, TEAR Fund was working in countries where chronic hunger, malnutrition and even starvation was common and some of this suffering was a result of poor financial decisions made in well-off nations and the increasing effects of climate change.

“Food scarcity due to crop failure has inflated food prices beyond the means of the poor and this has been compounded by the west’s credit crisis as westerners give less.”

He said TEAR Fund was not just giving food aid to the desperate but it was helping those in developing nations to improve food security by providing them with the skills and tools to manage growing food even when unpredictable weather patterns threatened their crops.

For instance, only a few years ago Malawi was in famine now it is rich in a variety of food sources. This was partially due to programmes established at that time through TEAR Fund’s partner.

You can donate to TEAR Fund’s global food crisis fund at www.tearfund.org.nz or phone 0800 800 777.

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