The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) celebratesWorld Food Day on 16 October, the day on which the Organization was founded in 1945. Each year it is celebrated by more than 150 countries worldwide. 
The 35th observance of World Food Day, which this year will commemorate the70th Anniversary of the founding of FAO, will be celebrated at Expo Milano.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Director-General of FAO José Graziano da Silva will be joined by the President of the Republic of Italy and the Italian Ministers for Agriculture and Foreign Affairs for the official opening ceremony.
Falling in an opportune moment, just after the Summit in September 2015 and before the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP21), World Food Day promises to be one of Expo’s most important events. It will be a unique opportunity to send a strong message to young people - the Zero Hunger Generation – on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to engage them in the challenge of sustainably eradicating hunger and poverty over the next 15 years.
The official ceremony will commemorate FAO’s 70th Anniversary and address the theme for World Food Day 2015, “Social Protection and Agriculture: Breaking the Cycle of Rural Poverty”, and how this links with the UN theme for Expo 2015, “The Zero Hunger Challenge · United for a sustainable world”.
Highlights of the ceremony will include the official presentation of the Milan Charter to the UN Secretary-General, a manifesto that engages all citizens in the fight against undernourishment, malnutrition and waste, while promoting equal access to natural resources and sustainability. The Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, where Mayors worldwide commit to coordinating international food policies, is another important legacy document that will be presented. In addition to the keynote speakers, the Heads of IFAD and WFP will speak during the ceremony and guests will hear a few words from Pope Francis.
Other World Food Day events on 16 October with the participation of the UN Secretary-General and FAO Director-General include “Zero Hunger Generation”, an interactive question and answer session with students exploring the crucial role that young people will play in achieving the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and “Finance for Food”, organised by the Italian Ministry of Economy and IFAD.

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What is social protection?
Any policy or program designed to reduce poverty and vulnerability by promoting efficient labour markets, diminishing people's exposure to risks, and enhancing their capacity to manage economic and social risks, such as unemployment, exclusion, sickness, disability and old age. Today about 75% of the 795 million undernourished people in the world live in rural areas. Effective social protection programmes in such areas, where agriculture plays a vital role, include cash transfers, vouchers, insurances and in-kind contributions.
Why is social protection key to ending hunger and poverty?
Providing people with nutritious food is not enough. Without social protection, poor communities are at constant risk of hunger and poverty, especially when faced with a crisis or shock of any nature. By incorporating social protection programmes into national development strategies and policies, governments can provide greater income stability and ability to manage risk, thus contributing to reducing poverty and food insecurity in the longer-term. In fact social protection is high on the 2030  Agenda for  sustainable development and considered an important means to achieving the Goal of ending poverty within the next 15 years. It is also at the heart of the Zero Hunger Challenge promoted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.