A Day Celebrated All Over the World…..Thanks to Some Hungarians

by Dennis Engel

Every year near the middle of October, a special day is celebrated around the world—thanks to a delegation of Hungarians 47 years ago! You might never have heard about it, but World Food Day is commemorated annually on October 16th in over 150 countries. Its purpose is to raise awareness about the issues behind poverty and hunger.

On October 14, 15, and 16 Miskolc University is also going to take part in this important event. There is a group of students and teachers on our campus who are members of an organization called Universities Fighting World Hunger (Egyetemek Harca az Éhezés Ellen). UFWH started in 2004 at the University of Auburn in the USA in partnership with the United Nations’ World Food Programme. UFWH has activities on almost 300 university campuses across the globe. The founding goal of UFWH is to develop and put in place an action agenda for students and faculty that leads to a university community that is fully engaged in the effort to eliminate hunger. UFWH at the University of Miskolc has been holding two food collections annually since the spring of 2013. It is the only UFWH group in the country to have such campaigns every year.

Miskolc University’s UFWH team partners with the Hungarian Red Cross of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County to help people in our local area who are hungry and need assistance. From October 14 —16, from 9:30 to 13:30, volunteers will be collecting long-term foodstuffs (canned goods, pastas, etc., but please no flour) at the University’s main entrance and near the Rácsós as well as at the “Avasi” TESCO from 16-18.30. The food that is given has to have a minimum expiration date of three months. The local Hungarian Red Cross will make sure that the donated items are distributed to people who need them.  

So what, exactly, is the Hungarian connection to World Food Day? 16 October was proclaimed to be World Food Day in 1979 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), as this day marks the date of the creation of the FAO in 1945. At the 1979 conference where this proclamation was made, the Hungarian Delegation came up with the idea of celebrating World Food Day all across the world. The idea spread, so that today, in fact, countries around the world honor October 16^th as World Food Day.

So there you have it! A day that is observed in many countries across the globe thanks in part to the initiative of a Hungarian delegation 47 years ago. Let's preserve the generous spirit of those who decided to make World Food Day an international event, and have World Food Day 2026 make a great impact on our community by holding a very fruitful collection at the University of Miskolc on October 14, 15, and 16! Thank you very much!    

Dennis Engel