World Food Prize 2010

David Beckman (Bread for the World) and Jo Luck (Heifer International) are the recipients of this year's World Food Prize, largely in honor of the role that NGOs play in improving food security.

Beckman's work to nearly double membership in Bread for the World advocate for US policy changes are credited with lifting "hundreds of millions of people" out of poverty and hunger. Centrally highlighted are the US government's increases in aid, particularly to Africa and for agricultural development. "While these positive strides have many causes, they would not have happened without Beckmann and Bread for the World leading millions of citizen advocates across the country to press for change, nor without Beckmann's personal commitment to founding and strengthening other organizations working in concert to improve the lives of the poor." Beckman is a minister and an economist.


Heifer International has been involved in getting livestock to poor families as an additional source of income and food production. Luck expanded membership in the organization 20 fold since 1992 and is credited with expanding HI's outreach to enable 12 million families to feed themselves. Part of the program involves recipient families passing on one of the livestock's offspring to another needy family so that more families can be reached and recipients become givers in turn.