M.J. Altman | World Food Program USA

As the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger, the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) crosses the planet’s toughest terrain to feed hungry families in need.

WFP doesn’t just operate its own fleet of ships, aircraft and trucks to deliver lifesaving food assistance.

The agency’s logistics experts will employ whatever means necessary to reach communities struggling to survive chronic hunger and poverty.

WFP staffers will even use donkeys and elephants to get the job done if necessary.

In Nepal, WFP is utilizing the moutain-climbing expertise of local porters to reach families cut off by landslides and road blockades caused by the recent earthquake. Dubbed Operation Mountain Express, the relief effort will provide employment opportunities for up to 4,000 members of Nepal’s mountaineering and trekking associations.

“We have the goods, but they have the expertise, the people and the insider knowledge that we desperately need,” the WFP’s emergency coordinator Richard Ragan said.

“This is about delivering relief, creating a safe and sustainable trail network and employment.”

As the logistics arm of the U.N., WFP leads the international community in innovative ways to deliver food, including parachute drops in South Sudan, e-vouchers in Lebanon and high-energy biscuitsduring natural disasters.

From remote mountaintops in Bhutan to conflict zones in Syria and South Sudan, WFP staffers are overcoming a variety of challenges in the field to reach people in need.

In fact, at any given moment WFP has approximately 5,000 planes, 70 aircraft and 20 ships that are delivering food — and hope — where it’s needed most.

Because WFP staffers are trained to do whatever it takes to reach hungry families across the globe.

Watch WFP’s trucks in action during the rainy season in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

 

This article first appeared on the World Food Program blog and was republished with permission.