October 16

World Food Day is celebrated every year on 16 October to commemorate the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 1945. World Food Day aims to heighten public awareness of the plight of the world's hungry and malnourished and to encourage people worldwide to take action against hunger. More than 150 countries observe this event every year. In the United States, 450 national, private voluntary organizations sponsor World Food Day, and local groups are active in almost every community. First observed in 1981, each year World Food Day highlights a particular theme on which to focus activities.