Celebrating World Food Safety Day

Every June 7, World Food Safety Day reminds us that food must be more than accessible: it must also be safe, nutritious, and handled with care.

In the US and around the world, our teams work alongside families and communities to make sure these criteria are met, so children and families can survive and thrive.

In rural Kenya, Feed the Children-supported community gardens are growing, alongside improved access to reliable water, giving families the essentials they need to safely wash produce, grow diverse foods, and strengthen nutrition and resilience.

Through Care Group cooking demonstrations led by Feed the Children nutritionists, mothers, fathers, and children are building practical skills for safe food preparation using locally available ingredients. These sessions promote key behaviors like handwashing, clean water use, hygienic cooking, proper storage, and preventing cross-contamination, helping reduce foodborne illness and support healthier families.

By combining food, safe practices, and community-led solutions, these efforts are helping children not only survive, but thrive, while advancing a shared goal of safe food everywhere!

In Malawi, families are growing diverse, nutrient-rich crops in their own gardens, improving access to fresh foods.

Through Feed the Children’s community-based approach, caregivers are supported through learning groups. Parents are learning to see food handling and preparation through a new perspective, of maximizing both nutrition and safety!

With practical knowledge on nutrition and safety, families are creating safer, more reliable food systems at home. When families have access to nutritious foods and the essentials they need to stay healthy, they are better able to support their children’s dreams and development.

In Tanzania, communities are advancing practical solutions that connect food production, nutrition, and safety. Support for fortified maize is helping families and schools grow more nutrient-rich crops while strengthening safe handling and storage practices from harvest to plate.

Working alongside communities, Feed the Children is helping ensure that food reaches children safely and with the nutritional quality they need to grow and thrive. This integrated approach links agriculture, school feeding, and food safety, supporting healthier diets, stronger learning outcomes, and increased community ownership.

By pairing essential food systems with safe practices, these efforts are part of a broader movement to ensure every child has the opportunity not just to survive, but to thrive!

Communities in the Philippines are demonstrating how access to safe, nutritious food and strong community support can help families build healthier futures for their children.

Parents like Sarah Mae and her husband work tirelessly each day. While he works as a delivery driver, Sarah Mae volunteers for Feed the Children’s school meal programs. These programs teach the volunteers how to prepare safe, nutritious food that young students eat to fuel them for a day of learning.

Through community-based school meals and volunteer-driven food preparation, parents and caregivers are also strengthening practical habits such as hygienic food handling, proper meal preparation, and shared responsibility for children’s nutrition. By working together to ensure safe, accessible, and nutritious food, communities are helping children like Josha grow healthier, stay in school, and move closer to their dreams advancing a shared goal of safe food and stronger futures for all!

In Honduras, school garden programs promoted by Feed the Children are strengthening students’ practical learning and food skills!

Students grow nutritious produce in their school garden, learning how to tend to the plants that will help sustain them. The items they grow are incorporated into their school meals. As they eat, students learn the value of healthy eating, proper hygiene, and food preparation.

With Feed the Children’s support, these gardens serve as a key tool for training conscious, responsible, and motivated students, teaching them to sow the seeds of a more sustainable future!

Through Feed the Children-supported care groups, parents in Guatemala learn about the importance of food hygiene, handwashing, and preparing nutritious meals.

One mother, Irma, received training and technical assistance in managing a family garden. These care groups also provide growth monitoring for Irma’s young daughter and other participating children, giving their parents real-time information on their children’s health and proving the benefits of nutrition and safe food.

From rural villages in Africa to school gardens in Central America, your support is changing lives through food. Feed the Children is proud to work alongside families and communities to ensure that children don’t just have enough to eat, but that what they eat helps them survive and thrive. Together, we can make safe food a reality for every child, everywhere!