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Last night, 795 million people went to sleep hungry. That's a larger number than the populations of the U.S. and Europe combined, and the effects of not having enough food makes hunger (and malnutrition) the No. 1 public health risk worldwide-greater than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.

In 2000, presidents and prime ministers of the United Nations countries set a goal to cut hunger in half by 2015. We came close but didn't quite hit the target: Worldwide, 10.9 percent of people are undernourished, down from 18.6 percent in 1990-92, the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization recently reported. Despite falling short, the 193 member states agreed this week to charge forward with an even bigger goal: ending poverty and hunger by 2030. The goal is part of the new post-2015 sustainable development goals that will be considered at the U.N. General Assembly in September.

It may sound like a beauty pageant wish, but it is an entirely achievable goal. Some paths to end hunger are relatively straight, a matter of increased production and ecosystem maintenance; others are more systemic, such as solving ongoing conflict and reshaping cultural ideas regarding gender roles. But with international cooperation and a departure from "business as usual," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva think achieving the goal is possible.

What would it take? Simply put, $160 per year for each person living in extreme poverty. That's a really nice dinner for two in Brooklyn and less than an August air-conditioning bill.

At the presentation of a report on hunger in July, Graziano da Silva said the total investment would total $267 billion per year over the next 15 years. "Given that this is more or less equivalent to 0.3 percent of the global GDP, I personally think it is a relatively small price to pay to end hunger," he said.

Humanitarians and research institutions are optimistic too. "We can change these things when we all agree to the same goals," said Lyric Thompson, senior policy manager at the International Center for Research on Women. "The important thing is that we need to carry that work through." Here's what needs to be done.
Double Agricultural Production of Small Farmers
If women farmers had the same access to resources as men, the number of hungry people in the world could be reduced by 150 million, according to the FAO. As a result, one of the sustainable developmental goals for the next 15 years specifically addresses granting small-scale food producers-particularly women, indigenous people, and family farmers-secure and equal access to land; resources like seeds, tools, and pesticides; credit; and markets.

It's why groups like Landesa and Women's Land Link Africa are advocating for women's land tenure rights and agricultural tech companies such as Hello Tractor are developing gender-blind mobile apps that could increase yields up to 200 percent. Even simple methods that increase production, such as sack farming, seem promising.

"There's not a high cost to get started [in sack farming]; you're not waiting on someone to give you seed funding. You could grab a sack and do that tomorrow," said Regina Pritchett of the Huairou Commission, a nonprofit that works on housing and community issues for women across Africa.
Increase Access (and Peace)
Right now, the World Food Programme is on the ground providing assistance in six different emergency situations around the globe. WFP aid has been a vital resource following natural disasters like foods, earthquakes, and droughts, as well as disease outbreaks, but the demographic of need is shifting.

"Increasingly, the people who need our help are caught up in man-made conflicts, " said the WFP's Steve Taravella, citing Syria as a recent example. There, the WFP is struggling to meet the food needs of close to 6 million displaced people. In Syria as well as in Iraq, Yemen, and South Sudan, " people are hungry because they're denied access to food. Their path toward food has been disrupted, roads are destroyed, refrigeration systems aren't functioning," he said.

In difficult-to-access conflict settings where local markets still exist, the WFP is increasingly bringing in vouchers for food rather than commodities. Much like a credit card, the vouchers enable people to choose their own food, and they are currently being used for Syrian refugees in Jordan. But a sustainable solution to this particular problem of access requires peace brokering.
End Malnutrition in Children
Poor nutrition causes 45 percent of deaths in children under five-that's 3.1 million children each year. The World Health Organization has set a target of a 40 percent reduction in children who are stunted from sustained malnutrition and a reduction of childhood wasting (acute malnutrition) to less than 5 percent by 2025. Estimates from the World Bank show it will cost $8.50 per child per year to meet the global stunting target. And it's a good investment in purely economic terms: Being chronically malnourished affects a child's future income, whereas $1 invested in stunting reduction generates about $18 in economic returns.
Meet the Nutritional Needs of Adolescent Girls and Pregnant and Lactating Women
Every day, 368 million children in almost every country around the world receive food at school; the WFP provides school meals for 20 million of them. It's not only a way to address nutritional needs, it's a method of arresting the poverty cycle.

"We specifically emphasize food for girls so that in very patriarchal societies, families that would be inclined to keep the girl home will send them to school to be fed," Taravella said. In many cases, families are also incentivized to keep a child in school in order to receive take-home rations-more school, more food.

But school feedings also loop back into increased agricultural output and access to markets, as in many cases the WFP will purchase food for school meals from local farmers, providing an additional market for the producers as well as fresh, nutritionally dense food for kids.
Invest in Agriculture and Rural Infrastructure
Research by the FAO shows that investment in agriculture is five times more effective in reducing poverty and hunger than investment in any other sector. A joint report from the FAO, WFP, and the International Fund for Agriculture Development presented last month found that a $105 billion investment in rural development, targeting small-scale irrigation and infrastructure systems like food processing to reduce postharvest waste and loss, could close the hunger gap.

"We believe that we won't see gains in reducing poverty and hunger unless we seriously invest in rural people," IFAD's Kanayo F. Nwanze said at the report's presentation in Rome. "Given the right kind of tools and resources, small-scale agricultural producers and rural entrepreneurs can transform struggling communities into thriving places."
Adapt to Climate Change
Around the world, climate change is exacerbating already hostile natural conditions, threatening farmland with erosion, salination, and desertification. Deforestation further accelerations the rate of erosion. Its results are impactful: If we don't adapt, hunger and child malnutrition could increase by up to 20 percent by 2050 as a result of climate-related disasters.

Agriculture is a major contributor to climate change, but it is also a victim of its effects. In order to meet the growing demands of the global population, agricultural outputs will need to increase 60 percent by 2050. It's difficult to overstate the importance of ensuring the practices used to meet those goals are sustainable for both communities and the environment.

One measure the U.N. has stressed is the importance of maintaining regional, national, and international gene libraries to preserve genetic diversity of plants. According to the FAO, up to 75 percent of crop genetic diversity is already lost; 22 percent of animal breeds are at risk, and more than half of fish stocks are fully exploited. "Preventing further losses of agricultural genetic resources and diverting more attention to studying them and their potential will boost humankind's ability to adapt to climate change," Maria Helena Semedo, the FAO deputy director-general, said in January.

"The biological foundation for agriculture is the diversity that exists in each of the different crops, and that diversity is embodied in each of the different seeds," Cary Fowler said in the documentary Seeds of Time. He's behind the "Doomsday Seed Vault" in Svalbard, Norway, which functions as a backup to more than 865,000 samples from gene libraries from around the world. "The fate of humankind is resting on these genetic resources. So nothing could be more important."

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Here's How We Can End Global Hunger in 15 Years

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Last night, 795 million people went to sleep hungry. That's a larger number than the populations of the U.S. and Europe combined, and the effects of not having enough food makes hunger (and malnutrition) the No. 1 public health risk worldwide-greater than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.

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How can we stop child hunger? | HELP THE CHILDREN

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The free lunch programs of public schools are geared for low-income families during the school year and provide an invaluable service. Many utilize the program as a way to make ends meet, while others don't eat without it. What about the months when school is not in session?

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Child Hunger Relief Programs | What We Do | No Kid Hungry

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No Kid Hungry supports many child hunger relief programs and works to ensure that every child in America knows of these programs and has access to healthy food.

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According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 49 million people in the country are food insecure, and 16 million are children. Currently, 21.7 million American children receive free or reduced-price lunch during the school year, but during summer months, fewer than 4 million are fed through summer food programs by the USDA, proving summer to be the hungriest time of the year for some American children.

Charitable organizations across the country are working to fill the gap, but they need your help. Here are some organizations you can support to be part of the movement to end childhood hunger in the United States.

No Kid Hungry (Share Our Strength) -- This campaign aims to end childhood hunger in America by connecting children in need with nutritious food and teaching families how to cook healthy budget-friendly meals.

Great Nations Eat -- Inspired by the documentary "A Place At The Table," this movement is working to end child hunger in America by connecting children to nutrition programs like school breakfast and summer meals.

Feeding America -- This nonprofit is a nationwide network of food banks that feeds more that 46 million people through pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and many other community-based agencies across the United States.

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3 ways to impact childhood hunger in the u.s. - cnn

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3 ways to impact childhood hunger in the U.S. - CNN

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According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 49 million people in the country are food insecure, and 16 million are children. Currently, 21.7 million American children receive free or reduced-price lunch during the school year, but during summer months, fewer than 4 million are fed through summer food programs by the USDA, proving summer to be the hungriest time of the year for some American children.

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It takes the power of many to end childhood hunger: donors who believe in the cause, experts to diagnose the problem and innovate solutions, organizations to pool their resources and expertise, and communities to work together for change.

Working together is the only way to end hunger. We've built many partnerships to pursue new and better approaches, accelerate the success of our programs, and get food and resources to those who need them most.
Partner with us today.
Friends like you make a difference for boys and girls in America and around the world. Read these amazing stories to discover how lives change when struggling families receive food, essentials and hope.
Read stories to inspire and encourage.

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Childhood hunger is a deeply rooted issue that must be solved. This can only be accomplished by uniting forces and attacking the problem from all angles - meeting urgent needs with food and providing long-term solutions like clean water, education and livelihood development.

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Ending World Hunger--why hasn't it happened yet?

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Ending World Hunger--why hasn't it happened yet?

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Ending world hunger is possible - so why hasn't it been done? | Duncan Green

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Duncan Green: Some 850 million people go to bed hungry. If the right decisions are made now, we can feed the world and address inequality

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America Saving Tons of Food Thanks to Student Idea

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America Saving Tons of Food Thanks to Student Idea

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Newsela | Opinion: Ending world hunger by stopping food waste in the fields

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Shirley Temple appeared in her first film at the age of three. Mozart started composing music when he was four years old. Florida's Joshua Williams was a comparatively elderly "four and three quarters" years old, in his words, when he decided to start a foundation to fight hunger.

"One day I was at church and earlier that day my grandmother gave me $20 dollars to do whatever I wanted with... and that was a lot of money," Williams recalls. "My mom was driving and I was sitting in the back in my car seat and I was looking out the window and I see a man with a sign: 'need money, need food.' I didn't know that people needed help so I asked my mom why he had the sign and she explained. It was very surprising to me. I couldn't comprehend why people had to live in such conditions and the sign said he needed money, so why not give him the $20 dollars that I had?"

The moment was a real life version of a superhero's origin story. "That's when I saw that I could really make a difference and that I had to do something and that I had to change the world," Williams asserts.

Today, the charity child prodigy is a 13 year old whose organization, Joshua's Heart, has over 1200 youth volunteers. "Our main program is called the Distribution Program where we distribute food to those who are in need. We've given over 650,000 pounds of food through that project over nine years," William explains. He eventually realized that not everyone who received his food knew how to prepare it, so he decided to educate them. "The next project was one we started about two or three years ago... We have a chef come out and teach the people we are helping with the food that they are receiving how to cook a healthy meal." Williams thinks the high cost of nutritious food is one reason why many people don't know how to cook. "It's crazy that it's cheaper to buy McDonalds than a salad. In fact, that's why a lot of people do not buy healthy food."

It may seem improbable that a kid could create his own successful charity, but, in addition to being wise beyond his years, Williams possesses as much self-confidence and optimism as a room full of motivational speakers. "There's a saying: No matter what you want to do, if you put your mind to it, you can do it, which is gravely understated in my opinion." He credits his family for teaching him that he could achieve all of his goals. "It's crazy how everything has developed within my foundation so far and how my passion in life really has become a reality... and now that it's a reality, I want more and I want to feed more people."

His friends also support his endeavor. "If one of my friends who is helping out tells one of their friends about what we're doing, that's a ripple effect and that can easily grow into a thousand people coming out to help. That's basically what happened in the beginning."

Williams sounds like a CEO as he describes how he balances running a large organization with typical teenage responsibilities. "I've become very good at time management. I'm in ninth grade now so school is more aggressive. It's a lot more difficult. It's a lot more stressful... Once I finish my homework, if I have extra time, I will do Joshua's Heart. I do a lot more of it on the weekends now." Joshua's Heart will be a part of Williams's life into adulthood. "I plan on continuing the foundation for a long, long time and I have a plan to make this into a family [foundation]," he says.

In fact, the ninth grader, who hopes to attend MIT and become a scientist, has planned out his entire life, and beyond. "When I pass away, which I will, I'm going to leave my foundation to my kids. Even earlier than that, I'm going to give it to them to continue the legacy. My foundation will continue with my family."

Williams has been recognized by the White House as a Champion of Change. He has met business leaders and even recently shot a video with actor Josh Duhamel to promote Unilever's anti-hunger initiative Project Sunlight. Yet he's most impressed by the other activists that he's met. "It's always the really, really interesting people that you meet that do the same work... Seeing how they do it, their twist to it, just their story."

This issue of hunger resonates so strongly for Williams because it impacts many of his peers. One in five children in the United States experiences hunger or food insecurity. Williams thinks that shining a light on the problem is the first step to solving it. "We're doing great things overseas yet we're blinded to the fact that people in our own nation are hungry, people in our own nation need help and there are a lot of people in our communities that don't know that... One of the things I'm trying to bring awareness to is that hunger can be next door to you."

Williams idealistically believes that if enough people become involved, hunger will be eradicated. "There's so many ways that we can help change the world for the better. One thing is communication between people. If you communicate, you brainstorm together, work together to make bigger ideas," he says.

Volunteering at soup kitchens and donating food are traditional Thanksgiving activities. According to Williams, people need to think of community service as more than just something to do for the holidays. "One of my messages is simply don't just give back during Thanksgiving. Give back throughout the year... It should be a daily thing, something that you do every day," Williams states. "Be thankful for what you have and try to something nice for somebody else, whether it's a small act of kindness. Help somebody out. Help make their day brighter and make a small change for a brighter future."

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Everyday Heroes: Joshua Williams, 13, Runs His Own Hunger Relief Charity (INTERVIEW)

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Shirley Temple appeared in her first film at the age of three. Mozart started composing music when he was four years old. Florida's Joshua Williams was a comparatively elderly "four and three quarters" years old, in his words, when he decided to start a foundation to fight hunger.

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Food insecurity has become normalized among American adolescents-who are also particularly vulnerable to its risks.

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Young Activists Commit to Defeating Hunger

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Young Activists Commit to Defeating Hunger

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By Faustine Wabwire, Bread for the World Institute

In December 2015, Pape Samb, Chair of the Global Youth Innovation Network (GYIN), watched my interview with Voice of America T V on the Paris climate agreement. Pape particularly appreciated my focus on urgent world hunger issues. These included the risks that climate change is imposing on agriculture, and, of even greater interest, the need to "train the next generation of agricultural leaders" to address the world's most solvable problem, global hunger.

Pape saw the interview as he and the GYIN movement of dedicated Young Hunger Fighters around the world were preparing to host the 2016 Youth Agribusiness, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship Summit on Innovation (YALESI 2016), in Dakar, Senegal. The theme of YALESI 2016, Youth Capacities to Fight Hunger and Create Employment Opportunities, couldn't be more appropriate for us at Bread for the World Institute. For example, Bread has been an integral part of the effort to improve nutrition during the 1,000 days from pregnancy to age 2 - especially critical because the harm done at this age to human health and development is irreversible. Survivors of early childhood malnutrition face an especially difficult time as they start trying to earn a living.

I agree with Pape that reaching critical milestones in human development such as the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require finding ways to benefit from the full extent of local human capital-including youth. When you think about it, the SDG agenda is really for youth, our future leaders. This is why I was honored to represent Bread for the World at the YALESI 2016 Summit, seeking to learn more that will strengthen our work on U.S. global development policy.

The summit brought together 250 youth and representatives of governments, universities, media, and international institutions, including the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Coming from more than 100 countries, summit participants shared with each other a wide range of challenges, success stories, and ideas. They, as young women and men, are looking for the best ways to transform their communities. Their priorities are creating jobs and linking rural farmers with innovative agricultural and entrepreneurial initiatives in partnerships that will reduce hunger and poverty.

Senegal's prime minister, H.E. Mohammed Dionne, opened the summit by applauding youth for taking the initiative. He said they are "ambassadors of development, soldiers of peace," and key actors in the struggle against hunger, poverty, and unemployment.

Why Youth, Why Now?
According to United Nations estimates, the global youth population is the largest ever -- about 1.8 billion people are currently between 10 and 24 years old. They live predominantly in developing countries. The energy and innovative capacities of young people, especially concentrated as they are in countries whose overall populations are more youthful, offer so much potential for economic prosperity. Yet for too many, being young means being unemployed, excluded from decision-making, limited in their access to productive resources such as financing and land - and, as a result, more vulnerable to hunger and poverty.

As I prepare to return to Washington, DC, I feel grateful to have engaged with and learned from this group of incredibly innovative and dedicated Young Hunger Fighters, leaders who share Bread's belief that we can end hunger in our lifetime.

Bread will continue to urge the U.S. government and our partners working in international development to ensure that agricultural investments support and prioritize the needs of youth, both men and women. These include extension services, business development services, financial education, and land, among others. Such investments, if well targeted, have the potential to scale up young people's ideas and innovations. We will need leadership from our teens and "20-somethings" to create a world where hunger is a rare occurrence rather than the shared experience of millions of people.
Faustine Wabwire is senior foreign assistance policy analyst at Bread for the World Institute.

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Dakar, Senegal: Young activists commit to defeating hunger

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By Faustine Wabwire, Bread for the World Institute In December 2015, Pape Samb, Chair of the Global Youth Innovation Network (GYIN), watched my interview with Voice of America T V on the Paris climate agreement. Pape particularly appreciated my focus on urgent world hunger issues.

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When Katie Stagliano was in the third grade, she brought home a cabbage seedling as a homework assignment. She cared for it and watched it grow to an abnormal size, then Katie started to think about how many people this enormous vegetable could feed. The cabbage eventually grew to 40lbs, and when Katie donated it to a soup kitchen she was amazed to see it provide a meal for 275 people in need.

"I thought wow, they´re just like my family," she says. "They could be my family and have just fallen on hard times."

Katie is a very special kid. "At the age of nine, I did not have a true understanding of the complexities of the issue of hunger," she explains. "What I did understand was that there were individuals and families in my community who did not have enough to eat. I have a backyard where I could and do grow fresh vegetables and donate the produce to families that are struggling with hunger - a simple solution to a problem that is not only in my community, but also globally."

All of this led to the founding of Katie´s Krops- a community gardening initiative to donate vegetables to soup kitchens that has now grown into a huge operation, with 75 youth-run gardens in 27 states since Katie first grew that huge cabbage six years ago. She has raised over $200,000 and people all over the country are donating land for her cause. This student´s amazing can-do attitude and big heart is humbling.

"Some people approach an issue and think, this problem´s just too big, I can´t do anything about it." Katie says. "But it doesn´t matter how small your actions are, you´re making a difference. I know that hunger is way too big for one person to take on, but you never know what you can grow with one thing."
For more information on this brilliant project, see www.katieskrops.com

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Awesome Teen Girl Solves America´s Hunger Problem

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When Katie Stagliano was in the third grade, she brought home a cabbage seedling as a homework assignment. She cared for it and watched it grow to an abnormal size, then Katie started to think about how many people this enormous vegetable could feed.

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"People often tell us that we're doing a great job with Will," says his mom, Julie, 41, "but in reality, it's Will who inspires us to give back to our community. Will thinks big."

Will Lourcey was 7 years old when he first became aware that there were people in his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, who didn't know where they would find their next meal.

"I was riding home from a Little League game one night, sitting in the back of my parents' car, and I saw a man holding a cardboard sign that said, 'Need a Meal,'" Will, now 14, tells PEOPLE. "I went to bed feeling sad that there were people in my community without enough food to eat."

Two weeks later, when his parents asked him how he wanted to spend his summer, Will was ready with a reply: "I want to start a charity to help people like that man we saw holding the sign."

After his dad arranged a tour of the local food bank, Will gathered several of his friends together around his dining room table and came up with the idea for FROGS: Friends Reaching Our Goals, a nonprofit to help the hungry in Fort Worth. They held a canned goods drive and donated 1,400 cans of soup, chili, peaches and tuna fish to the food bank, along with $1,000.

Then the real work began.

With help from his parents, Bill Lourcey, a financial advisor, and Julie, a teacher, Will started FROG Center Clubs, working with local boys and girls clubs to provide low-income children with a nutritious, sit-down dinner once a month. He also enlisted friends to recruit other young people to chip in and help the hungry in their own neighborhoods.

"People often tell us that we're doing a great job with Will," says Julie, 41, "but in reality, it's Will who inspires us to give back to our community. Will thinks big. He doesn't see obstacles, only opportunities. We hope his message inspires other youth to take action and help make positive change, all across our nation."

Since October 2010, through food drives and the dinner club, FROGS has provided an estimated 500,000 meals to those in need throughout Fort Worth, Will tells PEOPLE. He now devotes at least 10 hours a week to fundraising, planning and recruiting new volunteers, when he isn't attending classes at Trinity Valley School, where he's in the 8th grade.

"Helping the hungry is important to me - nobody should have to go without food," he says. "We have so much in this country. Why not pass it along?"

At FROGS dinner clubs, Will tries to provide needy children with an experience similar to one they'd get at a restaurant, "since many of them have never eaten out before," he tells PEOPLE.

"We try to give them a variety - Asian, Mexican, Italian, even breakfast," he says, "and we make sure that it's healthy. Some kids have never seen broccoli or a carrot before because they're in areas known as 'food deserts.' They live in neighborhoods where there is a lack of fresh, affordable food and their only option might be to shop at a convenience store."

Meals for the dinner clubs are donated by Forth Worth area restaurants, including Cousin's Bar-B-Q, a regular contributor.

"Getting involved with an organization is easy - staying involved is the hard part," Jason Cross, vice-president for Cousin's operations, tells PEOPLE. "Will has put an organization together that has a long runway and has made it easy for us to attach to his well thought-out plan, energy and passion. We're very proud to be a part of his journey to end hunger."

Kids who regularly help Will with FROGS are also passionate about the cause.

"I really admire Will," says Parker Harris, 11, a fifth-grader at Forth Worth's Tanglewood Elementary who has volunteered with FROGS for two years. "He thought of a way to help others and made it happen. He has a really big heart and shows it's important to help others in any way you can. It makes you feel grateful for what you have and not take it for granted."

"I'm just one person - but FROGS is proof that kids are capable of doing more than people give us credit for," Will tells PEOPLE. "It's important to give youth a voice - to let them know that regardless of their age, they have the ability to make a difference."

"I like to tell kids, 'Make a plan, gather friends and change the world. It really starts with you.'"
Know a hero? Send suggestions to heroesamongus@peoplemag.com. For more inspiring stories, read the latest issue of PEOPLE magazine.

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Texas Teen Helps Feed the Hungry in His Hometown

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"People often tell us that we're doing a great job with Will," says his mom, Julie, 41, "but in reality, it's Will who inspires us to give back to our community. Will thinks big." Will Lourcey was 7 years old when he first became aware that there were people in his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, who didn't know where they would find their next meal.

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Teen Takes Stance Against Childhood Hunger

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Teen Takes Stance Against Childhood Hunger

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13-year-old Kylee McCumber is taking on childhood hunger, and she's doing it through an organization she founded.

McCumber is helping supply some of her classmates with much-needed food they would otherwise be unable to obtain.

"I started when I was 10-years-old and in the fourth grade," McCumber explained. "At my elementary school, I noticed kids eating breakfast before school started and wondered why many of them were here."

She said she couldn't believe the fact that kids didn't have food at home and could only eat at school.

After speaking to the school principal, she started out by helping to feed 10 kids. Now, that number is up to 204.

With a team of 17 friends working with her, McCumber said it's a great way to bring people together.

"It's shocking that the numbers always go up. I didn't think it happened in my own country, let alone in my hometown," McCumber said.

"She's the one, she does it," Tim Blake, principal of Sky View Middle School, said. "No one does it for her. She's the one that really does it. She's got a team to support her, but she does it on her own. She's really one of a kind."

McCumber needs to raise $900 a week to feed those 200 kids. If you are interested in helping or learning more, visit KyleesKareKitsForKidz.org.

Watch the feel-good clip above.

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'One of a Kind': Teenager Takes a Stand Against Childhood Hunger

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13-year-old Kylee McCumber is taking on childhood hunger, and she's doing it through an organization she founded. McCumber is helping supply some of her classmates with much-needed food they would otherwise be unable to obtain. "I started when I was 10-years-old and in the fourth grade," McCumber explained.

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Mo'ne Davis

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Professional athletes with sneaker lines, take note. Mo'Ne Davis, the first female pitcher to win a Little League World Series game, is doing it better than you and for a worthy cause. The baseball phenom has partnered with (Make a Difference Everyday) and Because I Am a Girl to release a Mo'ne-designed sneaker.

The sneakers are modestly priced at $75 and are designed to replicate the stitching on a baseball. Fifteen percent of the proceeds from the sneakers will support Plan International's Because I Am a Girl initiative, which helps girls living in poverty in developing countries.

"I never thought at the age of 13 I'd be a role model, but having young girls look up to me is pretty cool," Mo'Ne said in a news release. "If I can inspire them to reach their goals, that would be even cooler. Designing shoes with M4D3 is exciting, and I wanted them to support Because I Am a Girl to help girls and give them a chance at a better future."

At a mere 13 years old, Mo'ne has again proved to be a role model for people of all ages. Imagine if professional athletes with clothing and sneaker lines did something similar. I can only wonder how many people could be fed off the sales of a Kanye West or Air Jordan sneaker.

"We are creating a shoe that we know Mo'ne fans will love and be proud of, and that will 'make a difference every day,'" M4D3 spokeswoman Lisa Zbitnew said. "Together with Mo'ne, we are designing a shoe that represents who she is: contemporary, spirited and athletic, but at the same time being very caring towards other girls and young women that are vulnerable around the world."

What's up next for Mo'ne? When she's not shooting hoops with the Harlem Globetrotters, she's preparing for the release of her memoir this month. Somehow, my life feels so inadequate.

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Mo'ne Davis Launches Sneaker to Help Impoverished Girls

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Professional athletes with sneaker lines, take note. Mo'Ne Davis, the first female pitcher to win a Little League World Series game, is doing it better than you and for a worthy cause. The baseball phenom has partnered with M4D3 (Make a Difference Everyday) and Because I Am a Girl to release a Mo'ne-designed sneaker.

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The 2016 presidential election isn't the only campaign story you should be paying attention to this year - everyone's favorite kid "politician" is speaking out about the big issues, too.

Robby Novak, better known as YouTube sensation Kid President, teamed up with ConAgra Foods and Feeding America to launch a new campaign Thursday focusing on child hunger in the United States.

The numbers alone are staggering - 1 in 5 American children don't know where their next meal is coming from, and that statistic increases to 1 in 4 for Latino children, and 1 in 3 for African-American children.

As a result, the latest Kid President video showcases the Child Hunger Ends Here initiative, furthering his belief that kids "should focus on being more awesome, and not have to worry about their next meal."

Novak and his brother-in-law, Brad Montague, created the Kid President video series to show how anyone, even kids, can create positive social change. Over the last five years, the pair has helped provide more than 500,000 meals to communities around the world.

"I had no clue there were so many families struggling with food insecurity here in the United States."

Their partnership with ConAgra Foods, one of North America's biggest packaged food companies, has specifically targeted child hunger in the U.S.

For every view and share of the video above between April 14 and May 9, ConAgra will donate the monetary equivalent of a meal to hunger relief organization Feeding America.

"I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I had no clue there were so many families struggling with food insecurity here in the United States," Montague tells Mashable.

He learned about the issue from young people during his own service learning program in 2009 - young girls showed him not only that there was a problem going on here, he says, but that there are also solutions.

Image: YouTube, SoulPankcake

With the growth of the Kid President audience, Montague and Novak have been able to create a community that makes good things happen.

Montague describes their partnership with ConAgra Foods as more heartfelt and genuine than many brands and organizations he's encountered.

"Committing to an issue as serious as child hunger is a constant challenge."

"Committing to an issue as serious as child hunger is a constant challenge," says Robert Rizzo, senior director of community investment at ConAgra. " It's promising to see results on an individual level when we hear from families whose lives have been changed as a result of ConAgra's commitment."

While the video campaign from ConAgra, Feeding America and Kid President creates a tangible change, it's important to note that there's a cap of 100,000 donated meals - a number that provides for less than 1% of children facing food insecurity in the U.S. The video is simply a starting point - there are various ways you can take it even further.

Image: YouTube, SoulPancake

How you can get involved:
1. Enter a code on ChildHungerEndsHere.com.
In addition to the 100,000 meals from the campaign video, ConAgra will donate up to 1 million meals for every code entered from specially marked packages of ConAgra foods.
2. Volunteer at your local food bank or soup kitchen.
In addition to this campaign, Montague and Novak have visited community food banks across the country to help provide meals for those facing food insecurity. Getting involved in what's already being done is a great way to support the fight on a local level.

"It's incredible to see how much good is happening right under all of our noses in all of our backyards," Montague says.

You can find a food bank near you using this tool from Feeding America.
3. Donate extra food to those in need.
Many food banks will take donations of non-perishable goods. Your small gesture can make a world of difference in a child's life.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

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Kid President's 2016 campaign is all about ending child hunger

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The 2016 presidential election isn't the only campaign story you should be paying attention to this year - everyone's favorite kid "politician" is speaking out about the big issues, too. Robby Novak, better known as YouTube sensation Kid President, teamed up with ConAgra Foods and Feeding America to launch a new campaign Thursday focusing on child hunger in the United States.