The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international organization within the United Nations (UN) that provides food assistance worldwide. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals. Founded in 1961, WFP is headquartered in Rome and has offices in 87 countries. In 2023 it supported over 152 million people, and it is present in more than 120 countries and territories.
In addition to emergency food relief, WFP offers technical and development assistance, such as building capacity for emergency preparedness and response, managing supply chains and logistics, promoting social safety programs, and strengthening resilience against climate change. It is also a major provider of direct cash assistance, and provides passenger services for humanitarian workers through its management of the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS).
WFP is an executive member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group,The organization has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2020 for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of food as a weapon of war and conflict Executive Committee . Undg.org. Retrieved on 15 January 2012 a consortium of UN entities that aims to fulfil the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), with a priority to achieve SDG 2, "zero hunger", by 2030.
The World Food Programme was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020 for its efforts to provide food assistance in areas of conflict and to prevent the use of food as a weapon of war and conflict.
History WFP was established in 1961 after the 1960 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Conference, when George McGovern, director of the US Food for Peace Programmes, proposed establishing a multilateral food aid programme. WFP launched its first programmes in 1963 by the FAO and the United Nations General Assembly on a three-year experimental basis, supporting the Nubian population at Wadi Halfa in Sudan. In 1965, the programme was extended to a continuing basis.
Background WFP works across a broad spectrum of Sustainable Development Goals. Food shortages, hunger, malnutrition, and foodborne illness lead to poor health, which affects other areas of sustainable development, such as education, employment, and poverty (Sustainable Development Goals Four, Eight, and One respectively).
Funding WFP operations rely heavily on funding from voluntary donations by governments worldwide, corporations, and private donors, which makes these operations dependent upon global economic conditions. In 2022, funding reached a record USD 14.1 billion—up almost 50% from 2021—against an operational funding need of USD 21.4 billion. The United States was the largest donor.
In 2023, the WFP received USD 8.3 billion in funding, likely marking the first time since 2010 that funding decreased from the previous year, creating a funding gap of 64%. This created a significant shortfall compared to operational needs, forcing the WFP to prioritize aid and reduce food assistance in some high-risk regions.
In February 2025, the WFP received directives from the U.S. to halt operations on numerous U.S.-funded grants, despite an emergency waiver issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio intended to allow essential food assistance to continue. These grants, managed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), are valued at tens of millions of dollars and are instrumental in providing food aid to countries such as Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Haiti, and Mali. The suspension encompasses several projects under the Food for Peace Title II program, which annually allocates approximately $2 billion for the donation of U.S. commodities and constitutes a significant portion of U.S. international food assistance. This program is jointly administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and USAID.
Organization Governance, leadership and staff WFP is governed by an executive board that consists of representatives of 36 member states and provides intergovernmental support, direction, and supervision of WFP's activities. Of the 36 board members, 18 are elected by the United Nations Economic and Social Council and 18 by the Food and Agriculture Organization.UN Document E/2001/L.2/Add.8 Election of 6 members of the Executive Board of the World Food Programme : note : addendum / by the Secretary-General The European Union is a permanent observer in WFP and, as a major donor, participates in the work of its executive board. WFP is headed by an executive director, who is appointed jointly by the UN Secretary-General and the director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The executive director is appointed for fixed five-year terms and is responsible for the administration of the organization as well as the implementation of its programmes, projects, and other activities. Cindy McCain, previously Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the United States Mission to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agencies in Rome, was appointed to the role in March 2023. In February 2026, McCain announced that she would step down, citing health reasons. Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau served as acting executive director until 18 September 2026, when Luke Lindberg was appointed executive director, succeeding McCain.
In March 2023, WFP had over 22,300 staff.
List of executive directors The following is a chronological list of those who have served as executive director of the World Food Programme:
Addeke Hendrik Boerma () (May 1962 – December 1967) Sushil K. Dev () (January 1968 – August 1968) (acting) Francisco Aquino () (July 1968 – May 1976) Thomas C. M. Robinson () (May 1976 – June 1977 acting; July 1977 – September 1977) Garson N. Vogel () (October 1977 – April 1981) Bernardo de Azevedo Brito () (May 1981 – February 1982) (acting) Juan Felipe Yriart () (February 1982 – April 1982) (acting) James Ingram () (April 1982 – April 1992) Catherine Bertini () (April 1992 – April 2002) James T. Morris () (April 2002 – April 2007) Josette Sheeran () (April 2007 – April 2012) Ertharin Cousin () (April 2012 – April 2017) David Beasley () (April 2017 – April 2023) Cindy McCain () (April 2023 – May 2026) Carl Skau () (acting, May 2026 – September 2026) Luke Lindberg () (Since September 2026)
Activities
Emergencies
About two-thirds of WFP life-saving food assistance goes to people facing high degrees of food insecurity, predominantly resulting from violence and armed conflict. Over 60% of the people facing hunger globally live in regions experiencing armed violence, which compounds with increased displacement, destruction of food systems, and increased humanitarian access challenges to pose massive risks to food security in the regions. In 2023, more than 300 million people faced acute hunger globally. The main contributing factors to this are major conflicts, economic shocks, and climate disasters. WFP said it had "reached 152 million people with essential aid" in 2023.
The Hunger Hotspots outlook released in June 2024 and co-published by WFP and FAO, emphasised that "acute food insecurity is likely to deteriorate further in 18 hotspots" between June and October 2024. These countries and country clusters faced famine or risk of famine, with population already in or facing IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe). Of those countries, Haiti, Mali, Palestine, South Sudan, and Sudan were classified as the most concerning.
WFP is also a first responder to sudden-onset emergencies. When floods struck Sudan in July 2020, it provided emergency food assistance to nearly 160,000 people. WFP provided food as well as vouchers for people to buy vital supplies, while also planning recovery, reconstruction, and resilience-building activities, after Cyclone Idai struck Mozambique and floods washed an estimated 400,000 hectares of crops on early 2019.
WFP's emergency support is also preemptive in offsetting the potential impact of disasters. In the Sahel region of Africa, amidst economic challenges, climate change, and armed militancy, WFP's activities included working with communities and partners to harvest water for irrigation, restore degraded land, and support livelihoods through skills training. It uses early-warning systems to help communities prepare for disasters. In Bangladesh, weather forecasting led to the distribution of cash to vulnerable farmers to pay for measures such as reinforcing their homes or stockpiling food ahead of heavy flooding.
WFP is the lead agency of the Logistics Cluster, a coordination mechanism established by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC). It also co-leads the Food Security Cluster. The WFP-managed United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) serves over 300 destinations globally. WFP also manages the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD), a global network of hubs that procure, store and transport emergency supplies for the organization and the wider humanitarian community. WFP logistical support, including its air service and hubs, has enabled staff and supplies from WFP and partner organizations to reach areas where commercial flights have not been available during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Climate change
Climate change is a large contributor to food insecurity because it increases droughts and floods, reducing agricultural productivity with damage to crops. WFP provided cash to vulnerable groups ahead of torrential rains in Bangladesh in July 2019. Its response to Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas in September 2019 was assisted by a regional office in Barbados, which had been set up the previous year to enable better disaster preparedness and response. In advance of Dorian, WFP deployed technical experts in food security, logistics and emergency telecommunication to support a rapid needs assessment. Assessment teams also conducted an initial aerial reconnaissance mission with the aim to put teams on the ground as soon as possible.
Nutrition WFP works with governments, other UN agencies, NGOs and the private sector, increasing food security, supporting nutrition interventions, policies and programmes, that include school meals and food fortification.
School meals
School meals encourage parents in vulnerable families to send their children to school, rather than work. They have proved highly beneficial in areas including education and gender equality, health and nutrition, social protection, local economies and agriculture. WFP works with partners to ensure school feeding is part of integrated school health and nutrition programmes, which include services such as malaria control, menstrual hygiene and guidance on sanitation and hygiene. In education, hunger and malnutrition can lead to absence from school. Children who experience food insecurity may acquire developmental issues.
Smallholder farmers WFP is a member of a global consortium that forms the , which helps smallholder farmers receive information, investment and support, so they can produce and sell marketable surplus and increase their income. WFP connects smallholder farmers to markets in more than 40 countries.