From September 20-28, 2024, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and Climate Week NYC, the SDG2 Advocacy Hub hosted, co-hosted and participated in a variety of events and conversations. Working to ensure that global hunger, transforming food systems and overarching SDG2 issues stayed top of agendas, the team convened diverse actors to push progress.
Goalkeepers Empty Plates Food Truck
Hungry for Action together with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation hosted the Goalkeepers Empty Plates Food Truck on the sidelines of the Goalkeepers event. The activation brought together activists, global voices and food champion voices calling for an end to global hunger. Bill Gates attended, in addition to Chefs Cristina Bowerman, Eitan Bernath, Grace Ramirez, JJ Johnson, Marcus Samuelsson, Omotolani Tayo-Osikoya, and Ranveer Brar. Empty Plates are continuing to show up across the globe in multiple cities (already in NY, D.C., Rio, London, Kigali), drawing attention to the need for a global plan to address the food crisis.
The Food Forever Experience NYC 2024
The Chefs’ Manifesto and Crop Trust organised the Food Forever Experience NYC “Biodiversity Bites for a Sustainable Future”, hosted at Mission Ceviche, celebrating the rich flavours of biodiversity and the importance of sustainable eating. Chefs José Luis Chavez, Natacha Gomez, Erik Oberholtzer and Kristen Little Espinal curated a menu showcasing underutilised ingredients, with each bite a story of resilience. Bringing together nearly 80 stakeholders across SDG2, the event provided a space to showcase what crop diversity and healthier diets for people and the planet truly looks like through a plate of food.
Partnerships to Catalyze Action to End Hunger and Malnutrition
The SDG2 Advocacy Hub together with World Vision International, Hungry for Action, BRAC, Ação da Cidadani and the Government of Brazil convened an event to spotlight the global food crisis and its impacts on child hunger and malnutrition, showcase successful partnerships and new opportunities to unite stakeholders. Joined by Her Excellency the First Lady of Brazil Janja, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and many other dignitaries, the event called on world leaders to endorse the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty and mobilise the support of the international community. Insights were shared on the importance of government involvement and South-South learning exchanges for scaling initiatives such as social protection, school feeding, and cash transfer programs to address hunger and malnutrition. Representatives from Brazil, Norway, Spain, Ireland, and France affirmed their commitment to scaling proven solutions.
Empty Plates at the Global Citizen Festival
The Hungry for Action Empty Plates Campaign could be seen at the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park, with our branded Empty Plates stickers on concession items at the festival and powerful visuals—we continued to call for world leaders to commit and support the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty. Advocate and friend of the Hub Sophie Healy-Thow spoke on stage about the urgent need for G20 government leaders to end the global food crisis now, and ensure there are no more #emptyplates.
#beansonthemenu at Climate NYC
During Climate Week NYC, Beans is How, The NYC Mayor’s Office of Food Policy, and six NYC government agencies teamed up to raise awareness about the benefits of beans for people’s health and the planet, integrating them across city programs. Building off of a pilot effort with restaurants and influencers in 2023, 50 restaurant brands promoted a variety of bean dishes from across global cuisines. Working with the Department of Aging to take the message directly to their community, Chef Grace Ramirez visited the older adult community centres, Union Settlement and Greenwich Housing, to share cooking tips, bust bean myths and celebrate the health and climate benefits of beans. Partners including FoodTank, Crop Trust WBCSD, the Sustainable Restaurant Association, Greener By Default, and Food for Climate League celebrated Climate Week NYC and the UNGA by including beans in their event catering and programming.
Commitments and Initiatives coming out of UNGA 79 related to SDG2
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World Leaders adopted the Pact of the Future, coming out of the Summit of the Future, aiming to reimagine the multilateral system and address future challenges. Covering a broad range of issues including peace and security, sustainable development, climate change, digital cooperation, human rights, gender, youth and future generations, and the transformation of global governance.
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Brazil’s President Lula was awarded the 2024 Global Goalkeepers Award, recognising the country’s success in tackling hunger with the Bolsa Familia initiative, in addition to its global leadership with the development of the G20 Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty.
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An Open Letter to world leaders, endorsed by 113 organisations from 37 countries, was launched, urging them to join the Brazil-led G20 Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty to address the catastrophic effects of an unprecedented global food crisis.
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Together for Nutrition gathered the Governments of Kenya, the U.K. and Norway with advocates, the World Bank and UN agencies, to connect the dots between malnutrition and gender inequality. CIFF made an additional USD$20 million commitment to the Child Nutrition Fund.
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Policy Asks for a Renewed Focus on Ending Child Wasting was launched by the Wasting Advocacy Coalition, calling for increased investment and prioritisation in global efforts to combat this deadly issue.
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The Nourish Equality resource, recognising the interlinkages between gender equality and nutrition, was launched, identifying 11 evidence-based investments for an equitable and well-nourished world.
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The Trillions Tracker was launched by the ONE Campaign – a tool to show progress towards closing the US$1.75 trillion gap in public finance.
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Denmark announced its early, increased financial commitment to the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), the Bank’s fund for low-income countries, committing $491.7 million for the IDA21 replenishment – 40% higher than previous contribution.
