2025 WhyHunger Annual Report
WhyHunger believes a world without hunger is possible.
We provide critical resources to support grassroots movements and fuel community solutions rooted in social, environmental, racial, and economic justice. Our staff and partners work to end hunger and advance the human right to nutritious food in the U.S. and around the world.
In this report, we’ll share updates across key areas:
- Meeting Immediate Needs & Rapid Response
- Scaling Sustainable Agriculture & Economic Security
- Advancing Black & Indigenous Food Sovereignty
- Building Global Movements
- Advocating for the Right to Food
- Activating Artists for Change
- Driving Visibility, Growth & Public Dialogue
Scroll down to read the full report or download a PDF version here.
A Letter from Our Executive Director
2025 tested all of us. Food insecurity deepened at home and abroad. Families faced rising costs, communities navigated growing uncertainty, and organizations across our sector had to do more with less. And historic SNAP cuts, rising inflation, tariffs and global conflict made it even harder for people to produce and access nutritious food.
Yet even in the face of these challenges, one thing remained clear: hunger is not inevitable. Hunger is a choice our society continues to make—through policy, systems, and priorities that leave millions without reliable access to food. And because these choices are made, they can also be changed.
Last year, WhyHunger stood alongside communities on the frontlines of this work. Together, we connected more than 2.1 million people to food with dignity, strengthened long-term solutions that address hunger’s root causes of hunger, and harnessed the power of music to inspire change.
The need for immediate support has never been greater. But this moment calls for more than emergency response. It calls for long-term investments in the solutions we know work: local leadership, food sovereignty, economic opportunity, and ensuring that everyone has the resources they need not just to survive, but to thrive.
None of this would be possible without you. To our partners, funders, donors, artists, advocates, and allies: thank you for standing with us and for refusing to accept hunger as a fact of life. Your commitment fuels this work and a growing movement rooted in dignity, justice, and hope.
With gratitude,
Jenique Jones
WhyHunger Executive Director
2025 Impact Snapshot
2.1M PEOPLE CONNECTED
to healthy food and essential services in their communities.
$1.3M Mobilized
in grants to community organizations and social movements to fuel solutions to hunger.
25 COUNTRIES
where WhyHunger’s support funded and strengthened the movement to end hunger.
50+ organizations
and movements funded and supported to advance food justice.
150+ ARTISTS
partnered with WhyHunger to raise awareness and drive action to end hunger.
1.8B REACHED
with coverage in outlets like The Associated Press, The TODAY Show, CBS, Variety, Forbes and more.
6000 PEOPLE TRAINED
in sustainable farming to increase local food security and boost economic growth.
10 countries
supported after disasters with food, housing, supplies and seeds.
Our Work in Action: Meeting Immediate Needs & Rapid Response
We provide critical emergency support when people need it most—with dignity and respect at the center.
Highlights:
- WhyHunger’s Hotline and Find Food Services connected 2.1 million people to free, healthy food across multiple languages, doubling its reach from the previous year.
- We responded to massive spikes in need during the U.S. government shutdown, answering 380% more Hotline calls. Our Advocates connected families, teachers, government workers, seniors and more to healthy food and essential services in their neighborhoods while SNAP benefits were unavailable.
- WhyHunger supported 12 organizations with $168,000 in Rapid Response Grants across 10 countries responding to conflict and climate disasters. Our support assisted rural communities who often struggle to access international aid efforts with essential resources to meet both immediate needs, like food and housing, and the tools to rebuild long-term, like seeds, construction supplies, fishing materials and fuel.
“When people are in need of emergency food, they often feel shame in addition to the anxiety of not knowing how to feed themselves and their families. WhyHunger Hotline Advocates provide critical support to callers, helping them find resources close to home. But they also let callers know they are not alone and hunger is not their fault. Hunger and poverty are not individual failures, but a symptom of the failure of our current social and economic systems.”
—Lorrie Clevenger, Sr. Co-Director of U.S. Programs
Story Spotlight: Call to the WhyHunger Hotline
“A man in his 70s from Queens lived alone and relied solely on his Social Security income. He wanted to know if he could qualify for SNAP benefits despite receiving SSI. We confirmed his eligibility and provided contact information for his local office to apply. We also gave him information about the Meals on Wheels program and the Area Agency on Aging, which offer a range of senior services, including transportation to food pantries.” —WhyHunger Hotline Advocate
Our Work in Action: Scaling Sustainable Agriculture & Economic Security
Who grows our food and how matters. WhyHunger is working to scale agroecology, a proven agricultural method that unites Indigenous knowledge and modern science to grow abundant food, restore ecosystems, and strengthen community control over their food systems. Moving beyond food access, WhyHunger is helping communities use agriculture to build economic security and sustainable livelihoods.
Highlights:
- WhyHunger funded and supported a global network of 10 agroecology schools across 4 continents, training people to grow food sustainably, increase access to nutritious food and create stable livelihoods. More than 350 individuals reported immediate increased income and stability. Students grew food for their families and became teachers in their own communities, resulting in 4,000 people trained to strengthen community food security for years to come.
- We invested in our partners to lead 92 hands-on courses, workshops, and webinars that trained thousands of people to grow crops, create cooperatively owned businesses and share best practices for food production in a changing climate.
- WhyHunger boosted 87 local food businesses with support for training, business licensing, access to land, farm equipment and commercial kitchen space.
- In March 2025, we brought our messaging to the national stage through our first-ever SXSW panel, highlighting how Indigenous communities and farmworkers are addressing food insecurity though agroecology and climate justice.
“We are in our 21st year of organizing, and I would like to thank organizations such as WhyHunger for giving us the space and opportunity to bring our message to places like this.”
– Rosalinda Guillen, founder of long-time WhyHunger partner Community to Community (C2C) and a co-panelist at SXSW
Story Spotlight: Sustainable Agriculture Schools
In Peru, WhyHunger supported partner FENMUCARINAP to teach farmers to grow food in the face of extreme climate shifts—building greenhouses to withstand frost in the south and shade structures to protect crops from intense heat in the north. With these tools, communities are adapting, nourishing themselves year-round and sustaining livelihoods long-term.
Our Work in Action: Advancing Black & Indigenous Food Sovereignty
WhyHunger is building alternative food systems that address hunger’s root causes and ensure that people can nourish and sustain themselves. We work with partners to advance food sovereignty—the right of all people to shape their own local food and agriculture systems.
Highlights:
- WhyHunger provided $377,500 via 14 grants to support Black and Indigenous Food Sovereignty initiatives. These resources helped communities grow and distribute nutritious food, reclaim and retain land, train farmers of color, build advocacy strategies, strengthen local entrepreneurship and more.
- We supported farmer networks and alliances that help over 282 small Black-owned farm businesses get access to markets, transition to organic crop production, and receive infrastructure grants.
- In September 2025, WhyHunger’s Gullah Geechee Convening gathered 31 partners, supporters, and staff in Charleston to strengthen Black and Indigenous food sovereignty networks. Through hands-on learning, storytelling, and cultural exchange, the gathering fostered partnerships across organizations working toward food justice.
“It was a pleasure to join organizers from various sectors and communities…The fellowship, conversations, food, and focus on the local histories felt thoughtful and intentional…SAAFON is always grateful for opportunities like this one, to represent the South in spaces with thought leaders, organizers, and food systems practitioners from all over, to find the weaves and intersections that ultimately make solidarity possible.”
—Whitney C. Jaye, Co-Executive Director, Southeastern African American Farmers Organic Network (SAAFON)
Story Spotlight: Strengthening Black-owned Farms
Southeastern African American Organic Farmers Network (SAAFON) bolsters collective organizing and direct farmer support to improve the prosperity of Black farmers. With WhyHunger’s support, SAAFON invested in 50 infrastructure projects in 2025, helping member farms increase their capacity and sustainable food production. They also supported 10 farmers transitioning from conventional to organic farming.
Our Work in Action: Building Global Movements
People-powered solutions last. WhyHunger fuels the long-term work of grassroots organizations and global social movements to break down systemic barriers and advance food justice.
Highlights:
- WhyHunger provided $850,000 in grants to 41 grassroots organizations and 4 global social movements representing hundreds of millions of small-scale farmers, fisherfolk, Indigenous communities, women and youth food producers around the globe. This support helped increase food security in communities most at risk, advance local strategies for food sovereignty and strengthen organizing and alliance-building for long-term change.
- We invested $94,000 to bring grassroots leaders to 7 global and regional gatherings focused on strengthening food sovereignty and supporting communities most impacted by hunger and climate change. These gatherings are critical to advancing national and global policy change, including the 8th CLOC Congress (Mexico), the 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum (Sri Lanka) and the Peoples’ Summit Towards COP30 (Brazil).
- Nearly half (45%) of WhyHunger’s global movements grantmaking is focused explicitly on growing women’s leadership through agricultural training, leadership development, political participation and community organizing. Women are responsible for half of the world’s food production, yet it’s hard for them to access land, credit and services. Investing in their leadership is essential for nourishing people and our future worldwide.
Story Spotlight: Global Policy Advocacy at the Nyéléni Forum
WhyHunger joined 700 delegates from 100 countries at the Third Nyéléni Global Forum in Sri Lanka to craft the Common Political Action Agenda. Formally adopted during the Forum, this strategic global policy document aligns and links efforts across food sovereignty, climate justice, social justice, economic justice and more.
Our Work in Action: Advocating for the Right to Food
Food is a human right, not a privilege. By advocating for better policies, we’re working toward a future where everyone—no matter their zip code or income—has access to fresh, nourishing food.
Highlights:
- WhyHunger co-coordinates the Closing the Hunger Gap network and facilitated three national workshops teaching communities how to build more cooperative, equitable food systems. As part of the network’s leadership team, our staff also led a session to help people navigate urgent federal policy shifts at the Resilience and Resistance Food Systems Conference in Portland.
- WhyHunger’s Midwest Regional Network celebrated its 10th year, bringing together organizations from Indiana, Missouri, Michigan and Kansas. Co-hosted with longtime partners, the gathering brought grassroots leaders together to exchange ideas, share practical skills, visit local projects, and strengthen community-led efforts to increase food access across the region.
- As part of the National Right to Food Community of Practice, WhyHunger worked with partners across the country to advance the right to food in policy and practice. Together, the coalition submitted a report to the United Nations documenting hunger and barriers to food access in the U.S., launched a fellowship program supporting local food justice organizers, and created workshops to help communities strengthen public understanding of hunger and community-led solutions.
“Closing the Hunger Gap has been a crucial network for emergency food providers to engage in honest dialogue about the root causes of hunger, share tools and strategies, and take action collectively to address racial and economic injustices.”
—Sr. Co-Director of U.S. Programs Suzanne Babb
Glossary Spotlight: The Right to Food
The right to food is a fundamental human right. It means that all people should have regular, reliable, and unrestricted access to enough nutritious, culturally appropriate food to support a healthy and dignified life. No one should have to wonder where their next meal will come from or face barriers to accessing the food they need to thrive. Food is not a privilege reserved for a few—it is a basic human right that belongs to everyone.
Our Work in Action: Activating Artists for Change
Music powers movement. WhyHunger’s Artists Against Hunger & Poverty Program, inspired by our co-founder, Harry Chapin, mobilizes cultural leaders and their fans to raise funds, build awareness and take action to end hunger.
Highlights:
- In 2025, WhyHunger engaged over 150 musicians, artists, athletes, chefs, actors, and cultural icons to raise funds and amplify our work through our Artists Against Hunger & Poverty program, including Bruce Springsteen, Yoko Ono, Olivia Rodrigo, Duran Duran, Dead & Co, Chef Marcus Samuelsson and more.
- We partnered with SAINt JHN on limited-edition merch and a pop-up dinner in NYC.
- At our 50th Anniversary Chapin Awards Gala, WhyHunger awarded the ASCAP Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award to Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo and the inaugural Bill Ayres Social Justice Award to CNN’s Laura Coates.
- We closed out our 50th anniversary year and annual Hungerthon campaign with a benefit concert featuring Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Van Zandt The Disciples of Soul with Marc Ribler, Sameer Gadhia & Eric Cannata from Young the Giant, Yola and more.
Story Spotlight: Springsteen Joins WhyHunger Benefit Concert
Our 50th Anniversary Hungerthon Concert lit up the iconic Stone Pony with unforgettable performances from Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Van Zandt, and more—raising over $400,000 to support the movement against hunger. The night was packed with once-in-a-lifetime moments, from epic artistic collaborations to a crowd-wide singalong. Earlier that day, artists and leaders came together for a powerful summit on creative solutions to hunger, showcasing how music and movement can join forces to drive real change. Watch Video →
Our Work in Action: Driving Visibility, Growth & Public Dialogue
WhyHunger expanded its reach, deepened supporter engagement and mobilized resources to shift the narrative on hunger and power grassroots solutions.
Highlights:
- 2025 marked WhyHunger’s 50th anniversary—five decades of fueling grassroots solutions, advancing food justice and being a trusted leader in the fight to end hunger. We engaged hundreds of thousands of supporters through our “Live Your Why” campaign inviting donors, artists and movement leaders to renew their commitment to a hunger-free world with us.
- We reached an audience of 1.8 billion with press coverage in The Associated Press, The TODAY Show, CBS, Variety, Rolling Stone, People, Forbes, Complex, Mother Jones, Chronical of Philanthropy, Grist, and more.
- WhyHunger responded to the political moment with urgency, issuing statements defending SNAP, exposing the harm of government shutdowns and funding cuts, supporting immigrants’ rights, and calling out efforts to hide hunger data and deny systemic inequity as a root cause of food insecurity. We challenged harmful policies and narratives, uplifting grassroots-led solutions to build real food justice.
- WhyHunger generated over 3.3 million social media impressions, building awareness and mobilizing support for community-led solutions to end hunger.
- We welcomed new sponsors and deepened relationships with long-term partners, including Bloomberg Philanthropies, Boost Mobile, iHeart Radio, SiriusXM, and Wonder.
Story Spotlight: The Hungerthon Hustle 5K
WhyHunger’s 2nd Annual Hungerthon Hustle brought the energy to Citi Field on Giving Tuesday, with celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson and hundreds of supporters showing up to raise $544,000 to support our mission. Runners, walkers, and even Mr. and Mrs. Met hit the course to spotlight the nearly 50 million people facing hunger in the U.S. and power solutions to change it. Despite the rain, the event was full of spirit, community, and momentum! Watch Video →
Our Financial Highlights
Like many nonprofits, WhyHunger operated in an increasingly challenging environment in 2025, amid rising food insecurity, policy disruptions, economic uncertainty and growing community needs. Yet, we continued investing deeply in programs and partnerships during a critical moment for the communities we serve. Thanks to strong donor support and sound financial stewardship, WhyHunger remains in a strong financial position and committed to sustaining this work for the long term. Learn more: 2025 Audited Financials
Highlights:
- Raised over $7.5 million in revenue to fuel our mission.
- 22% growth in monthly donors in 2025, signaling deeper, sustained engagement from individual supporters.
- Continued support from passionate, everyday people, with a median gift of just over $50 and a most common donation of $25.
- $3.4+ million raised from foundation partners, strengthening WhyHunger’s ability to meet urgent needs while investing in long term change.
- $930,000 secured in financial and in-kind support from corporate and institutional partners for our major events, including welcoming exciting new sponsors
“I always leave every meeting with WhyHunger feeling excited about the future, grounded in a deeper understanding of what’s happening today, and filled with hope for what we can accomplish together… WhyHunger’s approach aligns so strongly with the vision of creating long-term solutions, not just responding to immediate need.”
—Christy Duncan Anderson, President & Executive Director, Albertsons Companies Foundation
WhyHunger is a 4-star charity, with the highest rating for excellence in fiscal management, accountability and transparency from America’s leading independent charity evaluator, Charity Navigator. 90 cents of every dollar raised is going directly to our programmatic work.
Thank you to our Board of Directors and Junior Board for their dedication and support.