A Shared Vision: Why Climate and Nutrition Matter for Ending Hunger

During Bread for the World’s 50th anniversary year, the Policy and Research Institute hosted its first Climate and Nutrition Symposium in Washington, D.C., to build a shared vision of how to end hunger while stewarding God’s creation. The symposium explored how caring for creation can support a healthier, more resilient, and nourished population and planet. In April 2025, we convened academics, policy experts, program implementers, and faith and grassroots leaders to address how climate shocks affect food and nutrition security. Together, participants identified issues that need greater attention from decision-makers across Bread’s three climate pillars: (1) effective food systems, (2) climate finance, and (3) climate mobility. A forthcoming report on the symposium captures insights from panelists and attendees, along with recommendations for policymakers—this article previews some of the content readers can expect in the full report.

What is an effective food system and how does it relate to ending hunger?

An effective food system is designed to nourish people, distribute benefits fairly, and steward the earth. Symposium panelists emphasized the need for inclusive policymaking that supports disadvantaged farmers, agrobiodiversity, nutritious diets, and more. “As much as we are losing our agrobiodiversity, we are also losing these health-protective and nutritious components that come with it,” remarked panelist Dr. Celine Termote, Senior Scientist with Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT.

Further, panelists discussed evidence from smallholder farmers demonstrating how climate-resilient conservation practices can improve economic outcomes. Whether diversifying farm operations or deploying healthy soil practices, farmers are seeing benefits in yields and innovating at a time when climate shocks and economic risk pose a threat to production.

What is climate finance and how does it relate to ending hunger?

Climate finance refers to local, national, and transnational financing that supports mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Food systems are especially vulnerable to climate shocks, and climate finance can help farmers adopt new technologies, access new markets, use fewer pollutants, and help rural and disaster-prone communities respond to challenges. Presently, less than 7 percent of global climate finance goes to agrifood systems. With 1.2 billion people working in the agrifood sector globally, it is critical that this sector and its workers receive more climate finance to respond to existing and emerging risks.

At the symposium, Brooke Jamison of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) explained how investing in rural communities establishes stability and food security in low-income countries. In El Salvador, initiatives like the Rural Adelante Project connected Iris Maribel Alberto Laínez, a young mother and member of the El Limón cooperative, with financial support to practice hydroponic farming. “Farmers like Iris aren’t just beneficiaries; they’re entrepreneurs, standing on their own, feeding their communities, and choosing to stay and thrive where they once felt compelled to leave.”

What is climate mobility and how does it relate to ending hunger?

Climate mobility describes the movement of populations within and beyond their community or country borders in response to climate change. This can include migration, forced displacement, and planned relocation. The symposium’s final topic explored the evolving relationship between disasters, hunger, and human mobility in the U.S. and around the world.

From the Dust Bowl in the 1930s to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, to devastating cyclones across East and Southern Africa in the 2020s, climate shocks continue to displace people, worsen livelihoods, and increase hunger. In the U.S., Feeding America responds to these events with emergency food assistance, on-the-ground coordination, and more. Symposium participants heard from their Director of Disaster Services, Racine Droz: “The Feeding America network is deeply rooted in communities across the country, so we are there before, during, and after disasters, because we also recognize that disasters escalate food insecurity, especially for our neighbors who are disproportionately impacted.”

Globally, experts from the Migration Policy Institute and USAID described how policy interventions, such as planned migration, can help reduce fragility and hunger after disasters. For example, the Planning for Productive Migration program in Niger, West Africa, has demonstrated that providing resources for planned seasonal migration—such as bus fare and job preparation—can help people find work and improve household food security during lean seasons.

What’s Needed and What’s Next

The symposium concluded with discussions across all three pillars to capture reflections and recommendations from participants, along with meetings on Capitol Hill with legislators concerned with similar issues. Decision-makers in the U.S. need to hear more stories of human impact that demonstrate how climate and nutrition are intertwined, and how innovative climate finance, food systems, and mobility preparedness can generate solutions. A full report on the Climate and Nutrition Symposium is forthcoming in 2026.

Isabel Vander Molen is a Climate-Hunger Policy Advisor at Bread for the World’s Policy and Research Institute (PRI).