A $1-million grant from the John Deere Foundation to the World Food Program USA will help be used to combat global food security concerns and hunger within the Ukraine.
By Andrew Joseph, Farms.com; Photo by Boris Dunand on Unsplash
One… million… dollars!
While that may no longer seem like a lot of money to the average evil scientist bent on global domination, to the folks in the Ukraine and around the world, it’s a darn good start in trying to stem global food issues.
On May 18, 2022, the John Deere Foundation announced a $1-million donation to World Food Program USA to combat global food insecurity and address the staggering rise of acute hunger exacerbated by the crisis in Ukraine.
World Food Program USA is based in Washington, DC, supporting the mission of the United Nations World Food Programme by mobilizing American policymakers, businesses, and individuals to advance the global movement to end hunger. Its leadership and support help to bolster an enduring American legacy of feeding families in need around the world.
Half of the grant monies will be used to support the global humanitarian work of the United Nations World Food Programme, with the other half going to the organization's Innovation Accelerator, which sources, supports, and scales high-impact innovations to achieve zero hunger.
"At John Deere, we are committed to helping feed the world and understand the important role of innovative technologies and business models in achieving that goal," said John C. May, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Deere & Company and chairman of the John Deere Foundation. "This investment in the World Food Program, and in its Innovation Accelerator, holds the promise of helping end hunger today and in the future."
Barron Segar, the President and Chief Executive Officer of World Food Program USA added: "We are grateful to the John Deere Foundation for their generous support at a time when the world faces a hunger catastrophe on an unprecedented scale. Private sector partners are vital to helping us feed families in need today and advancing innovation that can save lives in the future."
This award builds on recent grants from the John Deere Foundation to World Food Program USA, including a $250,000 gift earlier in 2022 to support humanitarian relief in Ukraine and the surrounding region, and a $500,000 investment in 2021 to support the WFP Innovation Accelerator.
"Together with John Deere's support, the WFP Innovation Accelerator positively impacted the lives of nine million people—including 2.2 million smallholder farmers—in 2021," said Hila Cohen, Head of Business Development and Chief of Staff at the UN World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator. "We will continue to build this unique, SDG-focused partnership by investing in innovations aimed at disrupting hunger and bringing projects to scale for maximum impact."
John Deere employees have also supported WFP through its "ShareTheMeal" crowdfunding app. With the support of the John Deere Foundation's employee giving programs, John Deere employees have helped donate more than 88,600 meals to fight global hunger in 2022.
To learn more about World Food Program USA's mission, visit https://www.wfpusa.org/mission-history/.
Learn more about the John Deere Foundation at https://www.deere.com/en/our-company/sustainability/citizenship/.