April 18th, 2025, 4pm MDT
On Thursday, April 17, I met with leaders of the United Nations World Food Program, the United Nations world’s largest hunger and relief organization in Rome, Italy.
The Church of Jesus Christ for Latter-day Saints and the World Food Program have been serving since 2014. The Church celebrated the 10-year collaboration between the United Nations World Food Program and the World Food Program USA in February 2024.
The project involved more than 150 young single adults in the Salt Lake area and worked diligently to assemble and pack 900 boxes of food in the bishop’s central warehouse. But that’s just one of a few recent efforts.
“Long-standing collaboration with global food programs will help promote hope and independence amid adversity,” Bishop Kasse said. “By combining resources and expertise, we can make a difference in the lives of people facing food insecurity.”
Most recently, the church gave a $8 million grant to the World Food Program’s home-grown school lunch program in Haiti in September 2024. The World Food Program thanked the $32 million donation in 2022. And the Church works with the World Food Programme and Black Liberia on various initiatives in Liberia, including various initiatives in Liberia, Agricultural Cooperatives and Agri-Dexing Centre.
According to Bishop Kasse, this is all inspired by the teachings of Jesus Christ and the ministry of Jesus Christ.
“We strive to follow his example when we feed our hunger and care for those in need,” he said.
According to a news release on Churchofjesuschrist.org, Caussé’s visit to Rome’s World Food Programme Headquarters included a meeting with WFP executive director Cindy McCain.
The World Food Program reports that 343 million people face today’s sharp food insecurity, and McCain thanked Bishop Kasse for having a true impact on the lives of those in the most needy.
“WFP is grateful for your cooperation with the Latter-day Saint Church of Jesus Christ,” McCain said. “By sharing our values of compassion and service towards others, we encourage people to work together to end hunger and malnutrition, change lives and empower our communities to flourish.”
Caussé’s visit included briefings on the current emergency, including in-person hearings from representatives of the World Food Programmes in Chad, Ukraine and Sudan. The goal of the briefing was to better understand the challenges faced in these parts of the world and the impact of the work being done.
Raniada Gashkamara, assistant director of the World Food Programme for Partnerships and Innovation, expressed her gratitude for her continued relationship with the Church.
She also characterized the visit as “a meaningful opportunity to discuss the breadth and depth of collaboration over the 11 years, providing impactful results across emergency response and sustainable development programs.”
Together, Bishop Kasse and McCain laid flowers on a memorial wall dedicated to staff at the World Food Program, who lost their lives while serving their hunger.
Bishop L. Todd Badge visited the headquarters of the World Food Programme in Rome, Italy on September 14, 2022.
