Dubai Retailer Choithrams has announced its collaboration with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) for the “Share the meal for Zero Hunger” initiative.
A four-month awareness and fundraising campaign, the initiative aims to support WFP’s efforts to reach zero hunger by 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
UAE residents can donate to the program at Choithrams outlets in Dubai, or on its website, the company shared.
“This campaign is a testament to what we can achieve when the private sector, individuals, and communities unite for a common cause,” said Stephen Anderson, WFP Representative to the GCC.
As part of the initiative, dietician Mitun De Sarkar and food blogger Suad Shamma, also known as Lady Spatula, will highlight how WFP’s School Meal Programmes in Jordan are helping vulnerable children to receive the nutritional and educational support they need.
Through a series of social media posts, they will share first-hand experiences of the programme’s impact.
Choithram International Foundation (CIF) shared that it has supported UN WFP’s school meal programmes since 2015. According to the CIF, over 6.5 million school meals have been donated since the start of the partnership.
“It’s incredible how sharing a meal can create ripples of positive impact. It’s not just students who benefit; by linking school meals with local smallholder farmers through home-grown school meals programmes, the economic benefits are multiplied,” said L. T. Pagarani, Chairman of Choithrams.
When looking more broadly at the progress being made on the Sustainable Development Goals worldwide, the picture is grim.
Adopted back in 2025 by world leaders, the SDGs overarching aim is “ending poverty, protecting the planet, and ensuring that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.”
However, the recent SDGs review report from the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) found that the world is off track from meeting these goals.
Specifically, only 16 per cent of targets are on track to be met by 2030, and none of the goals are on track to be achieved by 2030.
Moreover, according to a recent IPES-Food report, progress on hunger has now gone into reverse.
The report outlined that 30 per cent of the world is now food insecure, with 42 per cent unable to afford a healthy diet.
Looking ahead to 2030, 600 million people are projected to face hunger, the report said.