LAUREN BUSH AND WFP LAUNCH THE “FEED BAG” ON AMAZON.COM

New York – Today the UN World Food Program (WFP) and WFP’s Honorary Spokesperson, Lauren Bush, launched the “FEED Bag”, a new means of helping feed poor school children around the world while creating greater awareness of global hunger.

The proceeds of the FEED Bag – a stylish but sturdy tote bag designed by Lauren Bush - will feed a child at school for an entire academic year. It is available exclusively through Amazon on www.amazon.com/feed.

Lauren Bush, an international fashion model, created the FEED Bag after visiting a number of WFP operations in Africa, Asia and Latin America during her three years as a WFP Honorary Spokesperson. Sold through Amazon.com for $59.95 (USA), the reversible burlap/natural muslin bag was inspired by WFP bags which carry grain, often for life-saving operations. The bag’s burlap side is stamped “FEED the Children of the World” and a “1”, signifying that the proceeds will feed one child at school for one year. The white cotton muslin side is similar, but with three 3 useful pockets.

Millions of children all over the world receive a free school lunch through WFP’s Food for Education Program, which costs just US$34 for an academic year. Almost 400 million children around the world are chronically hungry. Hunger and malnutrition kill more people than AIDS, malaria, and TB combined. In fact, every five seconds, a child dies because he or she is malnourished.

For hungry children, attending school is often not an option their families can afford. Girls form the majority of the 150 million young children who begin primary school, but have to drop out before completing four years of education – before they can acquire even basic literacy and math skills.

WFP school meals help boost both enrolment and learning – when children are better nourished, they are more attentive. Research has shown that school meals can increase class attendance by 100 percent and improve performance significantly. For many children, the lunchtime meal may be the only one they will receive all day. In 2005 WFP fed 21.7 million children in 74 countries.

In addition to creating greater awareness about hunger, the FEED Bag -- perfect for work, school, groceries or the beach - gives Amazon customers a tangible way to support poor children all over the world.

To buy a FEED Bag, please go to www.amazon.com/feed
For updates on the FEED Project go to http://www.worldfeedbag.org/
For more information or to make a donation please visit:
http://www.wfp.org/ or http://www.friendsofwfp.org/

WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency: each year, we give food to an average of 90 million poor people to meet their nutritional needs, including 58 million hungry children, in at least 80 of the world's poorest countries. WFP -- We Feed People.

WFP Global School Feeding Campaign – For just 19 US cents a day, you can help WFP give children in poor countries a healthy meal at school – a gift of hope for a brighter future.

Visit our website: http://www.wfp.org/

WFP now provides RSS feeds to help journalists keep up with the latest press releases, videos and photos as they are published on WFP.org. For more details see: http://www.wfp.org/english/?n=999

For more information please contact:
Katie Schroeder

Rubenstein Communications
212-843-8033

kschroeder@rubenstein.com