Who we are
Rise Against Hunger India is driven by the vision of a world without hunger. Our mission is to end hunger in our lifetime by providing food and life-changing aid to the world’s most vulnerable and creating a global commitment to mobilize the necessary resources.
In 1998, envisioning a world without hunger, Ray Buchanan — a United Methodist minister — founded Stop Hunger Now. In 2017, Stop Hunger Now rebranded to become Rise Against Hunger. After enlisting as a U.S. Marine during the Vietnam War, Ray Buchanan quickly recognized that accomplishing a mission required “commitment to something larger than yourself.”
India program formally started in 2015 as a result of increased interest and support by corporate partners to engage in our meal packaging program. In 2013, the first meal packaging event was held in Bangalore which was facilitated by the US team, and this acted as the first step towards creating a sustained effort in India towards ending hunger. Throughout 2014, several events were held with multiple corporate partners in Bangalore packaging more than 280,000 meals. These regular meal packaging events led to the opportunity to establish a permanent program base to mobilize support and create champions for active engagement. An independent entity was created in India in 2014 which was formally registered as a Charitable Trust in October 2014. In 2017, the name was changed to Rise Against Hunger India.Driving Rise Against Hunger India’s work is the recognition that ending hunger is more than just feeding people. Our efforts are therefore directed towards expanding the hunger-fighting programs beyond meal packaging and distribution. Through our community empowerment programs, we work with communities to be sustainably food and nutrition secure.
Our organization’s approach to ending hunger centers on mobilizing a global network of hunger champions. Rise Against Hunger India meal packaging volunteers produce millions of nutritious meals annually that help feed vulnerable groups served by NGOs and community partners. Through our thorough monitoring and evaluation process, we ensure the meals distributed by those partners are effectively used as a tool to change lives by promoting education, improving students’ health and nutrition, addressing gender inequalities, stimulating economic growth and fighting child labor.
Our second important approach to eradicating hunger centers around grassroots community empowerment. Rise Against Hunger India bolsters agricultural production and incomes through programs promoting improved agricultural methods, business skills, and market access. With training and access to quality seeds and fertilizers, farmers can increase production and harvest a variety of nutritious crops. This also entails encouraging farmers to become resilient to climate change issues by adapting climate smart agriculture and other adaptive farming practices.
By supporting the establishment and augmentation of fish and livestock production, we also provide pathways to diversifying diets and improving nutritional outcomes.
Another core focus of Rise Against Hunger India is responding to crises–both natural and man-made. From droughts to floods, or during pandemic situations such as COVID-19, in conflict zones and transitioning political situations, food is often the most immediate need. When everyday access to food, wages, and market systems are destroyed in the wake of emergencies, Rise Against Hunger India works directly as well as through its field teams as well as its network of grassroots partners active on the ground to address these needs. We strive to ensure aid is efficiently and effectively deployed to and received by communities when it is needed most.
