Church of Jesus Christ gives $32 million to food crisis, its largest humanitarian contribution ever

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SALT LAKE CITY – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made its largest one-time donation to a humanitarian organization ever – $32 million to the United Nations World Food Program to help fight the current global food crisis.

The World Food Program will use the funds to provide food and critical assistance to nine countries affecting 1.6 million of the most vulnerable people who are being “driven to the brink of hunger” by global conflict and the brutal natural disasters that accompany climate change.

The nine countries – Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen – lie in what the organization calls a “ring of fire” that stretches through the Central American Dry Corridor to Central and Northwest Africa and Middle East.

Bishop L. Todd Budge, second counselor to the church’s presiding bishopric, presented the donation to World Food Program USA President and CEO Barron Segar and Deputy Director of Partnerships and Advocacy Ute Klamert at the organization’s headquarters in Rome on Wednesday.

“We are so grateful to partner with the World Food Program because we know they will provide food to those who need it most,” Bishop Budge said in a statement from the church. “And we thank the Latter-day Saints and friends of the faith whose financial sacrifices have made this gift possible. Such a gift makes God’s children a little happier and all of us a little holier.”

WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian organization. Its mission is to “(save) lives in emergencies and use food aid to build a path to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disaster and the effects of climate change.” In Somalia, the program has provided record levels of humanitarian assistance to avert expected famine, and in Yemen, it has provided food aid to more than half of the country’s population.

Due to climate disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the global economy, the war in Ukraine and other conflicts worldwide, a record 345 million people face severe food insecurity, with 50 million “on the brink of famine,” according to to the WFP website.

“In this time of unprecedented global need, we are grateful for the transformative gift of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” Segar said in a statement. “Private sector support is critical to our mission, enabling WFP to scale food aid and resilience work that provides families with stability and comfort in these challenging times. I am confident that the church’s gift will inspire others to join to our movement to end global hunger.”

“We accept this generous donation with gratitude and firm confidence in our ability to use it to deliver food to the most vulnerable, reach them in their time of need, help lift them out of harm’s way so they can survive and build resilience. ” Klamert added.

The Church of Jesus Christ typically gives about $1 billion annually in global humanitarian efforts, according to a statement from the church. The Church of Jesus Christ’s collaboration with WFP began in 2014. WFP Executive Director David Beasley toured the church’s welfare activities in Salt Lake City in 2019; the two organizations worked together to fill hunger gaps during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“My heart goes out to the millions of malnourished children who will benefit from this donation,” added Sister Camille N. Johnson, president of Faith’s Relief Society, a global women’s organization. “Jesus has a tender heart for children. He cries to see them starve. And he rejoices in even the smallest effort to help them. A big thank you to the World Food Program and to everyone who contributes in any way to this cause .”

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