WORLD FOOD DAY RAISES AWARENESS ABOUT HUNGER By Mark Klinedinst

Introduction Former Maryland resident Mark Klinedinst is a

University of Southern Mississippi emeritus professor of economics. Mark Klinedinst's charitable interests focus on organizations and events such as the Hattiesburg, MS, Farmers Market and World Food Day.

First launched in 1979, World Food Day is an annual event that is observed in countries around the globe on October 16, in honor of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which was established on that day in 1945.

World Food Day Every year, millions of individuals come together on

World Food Day to raise awareness about hunger by holding conferences, food drives, dinners, hunger walks, rallies, and other grassroots events.

In 2014, the event celebrated the International Year of Family Farming and focused on raising awareness about the importance of family farms, which account for 98 percent of all farming operations worldwide. In addition to attending awareness events, 2014 World Food Day participants were asked to celebrate family farming by posting pictures of themselves toasting farmers on Facebook and/or Twitter.