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As part of the "Fill the Cup" campaign, WFP is seeking US$3 billion -- just 25 US cents a day -- to feed 59 million hungry school children in developing countries worldwide for a year. People can donate by clicking on "Fill the Cup" at http://www.wfp.org.

Last year, WFP provided more than 20 million school children with a daily cup of porridge, rice or beans, in addition to giving many girls a monthly ration to take home to their families. Up to 70 percent of WFP's food used for school meals is purchased from farmers in the developing world.

Sheeran said that school feeding should become a permanent nutritional safety net for children, as it is in the United States and Japan. WFP's goal is to jump-start these programs, and then hand them over to local communities when they are able.

Background: As part of her trip to the United States to warn about rising food prices and their devastating impact on millions of hungry poor, WFP's Executive Director will meet today with commodity traders at the Chicago Board of Trade, plus civic and business leaders. This follows meetings last week with members of US Congress and young student leaders -- part of Universities Fighting World Hunger -- who gathered at George Washington University to discuss world hunger.

Rising food prices, increased energy costs, competition between biofuels and food, escalating demand from countries such as China and India, and more frequent droughts and floods are affecting millions of people -- hitting those on the poverty line hardest. A 40 percent rise in commodity prices alone since mid 2007 is drastically affecting WFP's budget and ability to Fill the Cup of school children worldwide.

WFP aims to feed 73 million people globally this yea
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