“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” – 1 John 4:4

A harsh desert landscape makes it difficult for the people of Djibouti, a small country in East Africa, to grow food. The country imports 80-90 percent of its food, which means nutritious food is out of reach of those who live in poverty.

“Their only option is to purchase cheap, non-nutritious food such as white bread and condensed milk,” Feed My Starving Children partner, Global Aid Network, said. “Ultimately, it is the children who suffer most from malnourishment stemming from the lack of vitamins and calories.”

Djibouti is not alone in its struggles. From neighboring Somalia to Haiti to the Philippines, we hear the same cry of hunger.

And this cry is getting louder. If you listen, it is almost deafening.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations' latest report on world hunger, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World tells us that hunger is on the rise.

This increase has a direct correlation to conflict. Conflicts affect food security and are a cause of much of the recent increase in food insecurity, according to the FAO.

In some cases the root cause of the conflict is competition over natural resources, which are declining in some regions due to drought.

Of the 815 million chronically food-insecure and malnourished people in the world, the vast majority live in countries affected by conflict.

The Sustainable Development Goal of a world without hunger and malnutrition by 2030 will be challenging, according to the U.N. report, but that doesn't mean it's impossible.

This report makes it so clear that we need to keep working together to end hunger.

Hope is Greater

At FMSC, we believe that food assistance is so important in tandem with community development. We are honored to work side by side with others working toward the same goal with others who share our belief that hope is greater. 

Hope is greater than conflict. It’s greater than drought and famine and disease. It’s greater than earthquakes and hurricanes. It’s greater than poverty. And it’s greater than hunger.

Thank you for believing this. Every time you put on a hairnet and pack meals or write a check or drop a quarter in a bucket, you are saying, "Yes. Hope IS greater."

What you do makes a difference. We need you more than ever as conflicts and natural disasters continue to wreak havoc in the lives of children around the world.

Standing in the Gap

Our faithful network of partners distribute FMSC food in schools, orphanages, medical clinics and feeding programs in 70 countries around the world. They do this every day. On good days and bad. During disasters and times of calm.

In Fiscal Year 14/15, FMSC shipped more than 22 million meals to country destinations with a high element of risk in shipping and distribution.

Each year since then, we have shipped around 8 percent of our meals to sensitive country destinations like Somalia, Ukraine, Iraq and Myanmar.

We are called to feed God’s starving children hungry in body and spirit. We strive to reach everyone, until ALL are fed. In looking at our distribution map, there continue to be gaps in where the greatest needs are in the world today.

FMSC has been called to stand in this gap with our partners in some of the most complicated, hardest to reach places in the world.

"We will do everything possible to feed these children and leave the impossible to God," FMSC CEO/Executive Director, Mark Crea, said. 

Over the next three years, our goal is to increase the percentage of meals shipped to sensitive countries to 20 percent of our fiscal year production.

Follow along with us this year as we share stories of how #hopeisgreater.