Food Heroes

    October 16th is World Food Day, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. For this special occasion, the FAO picked and interviewed several "Food Heroes" from around the world who help provide food and nutrition to their communities and regions. One Food Hero that I found and wanted to share was Walter El Nagar. 

    Walter is from a diverse background, his blood composing of half Egyptian and half Italian. Like his parents, he owns numerous restaurants worldwide, but Refettorio Geneva has caught the attention of the FAO. This specific restaurant stands out from others because of its unique serving system. The lunch menu is like other restaurants, where guests order and pay for what they had. The dinner menu on the other hand, is for members of the community who are in poverty and is completely free. He also actively hires workers in his community that are in need of work, as well as introduces policies that reduce excess waste from his restaurant.

    What I found most impressive about Walter is his focus on how being fed is a crucial right for all humans. He participated in a movement which pushed for including the right to food in Geneva's constitution, and actually made it happen. He has now shifted his focus to the European Union, and is working to make food constitutionally available to every citizen in the EU.

    One "Food Hero" that I found in my home country Japan was Tenohasi. They are a NPO that predominately targets the homeless, holding cookouts free of charge on the second and fourth Saturdays every month. They say on their website that "a full stomach is a full heart", and that the cookouts are a place where "we talk, come face to face, and connect with people." 

    It's heartwarming to know that there are organizations out there that take the time and resources to try to rebuild the connection that I believe many of us have lost with the homeless.