Most of the world’s hungry live in the countryside. But millions of poor people in the big cities are also going hungry.

As cities continue to grow, so do the numbers of urban poor. How can we make sure that these people have enough to eat?

Well, here are a few things FAO is doing:

Promoting city farms and gardens

One way poor people in the city feed themselves is by growing their own food. City and suburban farms and gardens supply food to about 700 million city people – one-quarter of the world’s urban population.

Small "micro-gardens" can bring in up to $3 a day for poor families. That doesn’t sound like much, but it can make a big difference. Consider this: an estimated 1.2 billion people live on less than one dollar per day and almost three billion make do on less than two dollars a day.

But city farming and gardening can be a risky business. Food grown in polluted cities can often be unsafe to eat. What’s more, using pesticides and chemical fertilizers in heavily populated areas can pose serious public health risks. Urban farmers and gardeners often cultivate land that they don’t own, so disputes over land use are another potential problem.

FAO provides information and technical support to municipal and national governments to ensure that urban farming is safe, sustainable and socially just. In cities as diverse as Caracas, Dar Es Salaam and New Delhi, FAO field projects have helped the urban poor establish safe and profitable urban gardens.

Improving connections between farmer and city

Cities will never be able to feed themselves. They will always rely on food grown out of town.

The key to providing nutritious and affordable food for the cities is to build solid connections between urban consumers and farmers in the countryside. These connections are what FAO calls “the food supply and distribution chain”.

Globalization is rapidly changing the way the world’s food supply and distribution chains work. International food corporations are playing a more and more important role.

What exactly does this mean? Well, for one thing, it means more supermarkets. Supermarket chains are becoming a fact of life not only in rich countries but in developing countries too.

In developing countries, small producers can find it difficult to fit into these new “globalized” food supply and distribution chains. And if they are not part of the chain, they risk falling deeper into poverty.

In many developing countries, long distances, bad roads, poorly maintained trucks and urban crowding cause spoilage of 10 to 30 percent of produce in transit. FAO is working with developing countries to make sure their food producers and traders can deliver clean, properly packaged and safely transported produce to urban markets.

The rise of international supermarket chains is just one way globalization is affecting food production. Find out more about globalization.

Making sure ‘street foods’ are safe

In big sprawling cities, not all the food that poor people buy comes from supermarkets or small stores. “Informal” food vendors selling produce on the street at small markets play a big part in providing affordable food to the poor.

Poor people in the city have to work very hard to make ends meet and they often have little time for meals. Cheap ready-to-eat meals prepared by street vendors can be a big help.

In developing countries, small street vendors can make a good living for themselves and their families by preparing and selling foods. If the quality of their products can be assured, street vendors can provide adequate and inexpensive nourishment for many poor city people.

FAO has a comprehensive programme to assist national and municipal authorities in ensuring the quality and safety of street foods. Find out more about what FAO is doing in the area of food safety.