UN World Food Programme Director to Speak at Gala to End Hunger

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Children retrieving water. Imperial College London

New York, NY – David M. Beasley, the executive director of the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), will speak tonight at the annual Gala to End Hunger. The gala benefits the anti-hunger organizations – Bread for the World, Bread for the World Institute, and the Alliance to End Hunger.

“It is a privilege and an honor to have David Beasley joining us,” said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World and the Alliance to End Hunger. “His appointment during this difficult time has been a blessing for all of those who are served by the WFP. We look forward to working with David to reduce hunger in the world.”   

As WFP executive director, Beasley leads the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies, and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries. He was nominated to the position by President Donald Trump. Beasley was recently featured in news coverage of the current humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

For more than four decades, Beasley has worked across political, religious, and ethnic lines to champion economic development, humanitarian assistance, education, and intercultural and interfaith cooperation for the most vulnerable people across the globe. As governor of South Carolina from 1995 to 1999, he provided a steady hand in moments of crisis. Beasley was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 2003.

“I have known David for many years. He is a man of faith and conviction, and it is an honor to have him address the gala,” said Ambassador Tony Hall, executive director emeritus of the Alliance to End Hunger. “David and I have traveled together and met with poor and vulnerable people around the globe, and I know firsthand his commitment to end hunger and malnutrition worldwide.” 

Receiving this year’s Alliance to End Hunger Partnership Award are Ashok and Meera Vasudevan, co-founders of Preferred Brands International (Tasty Bite) and the Meera and Ashok Vasudevan Foundation (MAVF). Tasty Bite funds scholarships, supports child and adult education in India, and ships food to people affected by natural disasters. MAVF’s mission is to permanently move people out of hunger and malnourishment in a sustainable, self-reliant, and healthy manner.

Also speaking at the gala is Kelvin Beachum Jr., offensive tackle for the New York Jets and a strong supporter of Bread for the World. Beachum is known for his dedication to ending hunger in the United States and around the world. 

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