A message of support from Raul Bova

Run for Food Race against Hunger
4th Edition in Rome
Saturday, 24 October 2009 – 18.00 hours
Stadium delle Terme di Caracalla

The 4th Edition of the Run for Food race, in the framework of the World Food Day 2009 whose theme is “Achieving Food Security in Times of Crisis”, is being organized by the Athletic Association Bancari Romani in partnership with FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Food Programme (WFP), and Bioversity International and with the support of the Comune di Roma, will take place on Saturday, 24 October, and will consist of a five kilometre fun run (walk) as well as a ten-kilometre competitive race  through the historic centre of Rome starting and ending at the stadium just outside FAO headquarters at the Stadium Terme di Caracalla.

There are now 1.02 billion malnourished people in the world with an estimated increase of 105 million hungry people in 2009, meaning that almost one sixth of all humanity is suffering from hunger. Both public and private investments are needed, more specifically through targeted public investment to encourage and facilitate private investment, especially by farmers themselves.

On the occasion of World Food Week/World Food Day 2009, let us all reflect on those numbers and the human suffering behind them. Crisis or no crisis, the world has the know-how to ensure food security for all and eradicate hunger. We have seen that the world has  the ability to provide financial solutions when they are considered important to solve a crisis.  Let us work together so that the current hunger crisis is recognized as a critical problem, so that a global solution will lead to the end of hunger and malnutrition, once and for all. 

Aims of the Run for Food

The registration/inscription fees of the race will be donated to TeleFood  community projects in the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Eretria, Ethiopia, and Somalia).

FAO launched the TeleFood Programme in 1997 after the first World Food Summit as an annual campaign of awareness-raising events (broadcasts, concerts, sports) and other activities to harness the power of media, celebrities and concerned citizens to help fight hunger. Donations to TeleFood finance small, self-contained agriculture, livestock and fisheries projects that help poor families produce more food; not a penny is spent on administrative costs.  Although small in scale and cost, TeleFood projects make a significant impact. For more information: www.fao.org/wfd

Details for participants

When and where: Saturday, 24 October 2009 inside the Stadium (Terme di Caracalla) open from 15.00 hrs. with a Food Fair and Cultural activities by the FAO Staff Coop. Race starts at 18.00 hrs. from Via delle Terme di Caracalla.
Distance: 10 kilometres competitive race and 5 kilometres no competitive race.
Race: Competitive for those with a valid FIDAL card or Non-competitive
Registration/Inscription Fee: 10 euro
Registration: Registrations can be made  at the office (0930-1300 and 1600-1930 hrs) of  G.S. Bancari Romani, Viale Marco Polo, 108 -  Telephone: 06 57288029
E-mail: info@runforfood.it   
Web site:  www.runforfood.it to download the registration form

Pictures of the 4th Edition of the Run for Food Race against Hunger :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/faonews/sets/72157622682827386/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/faonews/sets/72157622680730840/
http://it.wfp.org/foto/galleria/run-food-24-ottobre-2009