Use the discussion guide below to get your conversation started. You can also download and print the guide, as well as our World Food Day placemat.
The first step to ending hunger is awareness. When we think about our food, who grows it, and where it comes from, we can make smarter choices as voters and consumers. In honor of World Food Day this Oct. 16, help raise awareness by starting a conversation about food, farming, and hunger.
Bring friends and family together for a meal and discuss some or all of the questions below. There are no right or wrong answers—just an opportunity to talk, eat, and share some food for thought.
1. To start, let’s talk about where our food comes from.
A lot of energy is wasted trying to grow food in the wrong place, or at the wrong time of year. Do you know where any of the ingredients in this meal come from? How much of the food we’re eating is grown in the US, and how much is grown in other countries? If you could only buy food within a 100-mile radius, or within a 1,000-mile radius, how would it change your diet and life choices? Are any of the ingredients in this meal in season right now? How might we change the way we cook depending on what’s in season?
2. Now, let’s talk about the people who grow our food.
About 1.5 billion women and men live and work on small farms around the world. When you picture a farmer, who do you see? What kind of crops do farmers grow in our community or state? When was the last time you bought something grown on a nearby farm? What dishes did you make using these ingredients?
3. The UN declared 2014 the International Year of Family Farming, recognizing the important role these farmers play in ending hunger and poverty.
For example, when small-scale farmers receive fair prices for their produce, they are better able to buy food for their own families. What might be some of the differences between being a family farmer here in the US and being a family farmer in a developing country? What do you think these farmers have in common? Does your family grow any food, and if so, what do you grow? What are some ways your family can support farming families when you shop and eat?
4. Even though our world produces enough food for everyone, about one in eight of us still goes to bed hungry each night.
What are some of the reasons that people go hungry? Can you name some places in the world where people are experiencing hunger right now? Can anyone share an experience of witnessing hunger, here in the US or elsewhere? What are some specific things we as individuals can do to help end hunger for others, locally and globally?
5. Believe it or not, about a third of the food produced for people’s plates ends up lost or wasted between farm and fork.
How often do you throw out food? Where do you see the most food waste in your home and in your community? What kind of meal could you make with the leftovers from this dinner so that no food is wasted? What strategies could help your family to waste less food?
Spread the word
Help us build a global movement for change.