It’s hard to talk about the new year without acknowledging 2020, a year like no other. The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped our world. We saw sobering projections for sharp increases in global hunger, poverty and malnutrition. Yet even with the turmoil of the past year, we still have hope that we can end hunger in our lifetimes.

In response to COVID-19, we pivoted our programs to help communities cope with the impacts of the pandemic. We cultivated hope as we rang in a new decade of action to end hunger and strengthen resilience to help families withstand future shocks.

2021 presents us with a unique opportunity to respond, recover and reimagine better, more effective policies and actions for the future to help families and communities emerge from the COVID-19 crisis even stronger. In the year ahead, we will leverage our networks and connections across the United States and partner countries to tackle new challenges. And we’ll take a fresh look at our foundational strategies to make the changes needed to accelerate and protect progress in the wake of COVID-19.

Ending hunger, poverty and malnutrition is still possible. We’re already seeing farmers and families building on the support they’ve received from Feed the Future to adapt and help their communities stay safe and strong. As we enter a new year, 2021 is fresh with possibilities to forge a better future for all.

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A picture is worth a thousand words. Help us tell the story of Feed the Future and our progress in ending hunger, poverty and malnutrition by sharing your photo(s) taken in the field! We are accepting photos of agriculture, nutrition and resilience activities taken in the past 3 years. Submissions are due to ftfphotos@gmail.com by February 19.

Congratulations to Farmer-to-Farmer on 35 years of service! Since 1985, more than 117 million people in 116 countries have benefitted from the time and expertise of American volunteers in this program. Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers play a pivotal role in ending hunger and improving people’s lives. Feed the Future is proud to support this important program. Learn more about the diverse ways American volunteers have empowered their counterparts in developing countries.

Founded in 1980, U.S. African Development Foundation has invested in a pan-African network of local partners to promote entrepreneurship, food security, and economic development in underserved and hard-to-reach communities. USADF, a key Feed the Future partner, has provided grants to over 3,400 grassroots and community enterprises in over 40 sub-Saharan African countries to strengthen resilience and foster prosperity.

Feed the Future is putting America’s engine of ingenuity and opportunity to work abroad. We work with American companies, universities and nonprofits to share America’s agricultural expertise and entrepreneurial legacy with the world, and that work has benefits back home too. Find out which universities, businesses and nonprofits in the United States are working with Feed the Future to combat global hunger, poverty and malnutrition.

In the first of a series of blogs on the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation’s Roadmap for Impact, their Chief Development Officer Andrew Herscowitz discusses the importance of investing in global food security and agriculture with leading experts.

2020 marked 10 years of Feed the Future. We commemorated progress made toward greater food security and nutrition in vulnerable communities around the world, while rededicating ourselves to the work ahead. As COVID-19 threatens global food security, our work to end hunger is more crucial than ever. We appreciate our amazing partners who remain committed in the fight to end global hunger.