The Humanitarian Center, 1665 S. Bennett Road (2030 West), assembles shipments of clothing, blankets, medical supplies and educational materials to be sent to the needy throughout the world.

From 1985 to 2003 the LDS Church's Humanitarian Services provided more than $643 million in total assistance to needy individuals in 154 countries.

Headquartered in Rome, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) is the largest single program of the United Nations. It began in 1963 and fed 104 million people in 81 different countries last year.

"We're very good at targeting the hungriest," Morris said.

However the total number of hungry people in the world is estimated to be some 840 million people.

"Twenty-five thousand people die every day from hunger in the world," he said.

The WFP receives 57 percent of its funding from the United States government. Another 30 percent or more comes from other nations' governments, and the rest from private and business sources.

Much of the WFP's efforts are emergency response to natural and man-made disasters. He said the WFP had a huge presence in Iraq, though that is starting to wind down now. It's also working strong in North Korea, Afghanistan and Africa.

Morris said AIDS continues to be a huge related problem, killing many parents, who leave hungry children.

"If a person is well-nourished, they're better able to resist (disease). Food is critically important," he said.

Morris said the WFP can take $35 and feed a child for that amount throughout the school year in many countries. An extra $1 can keep them parasite-free.

Information is available online at: www.wfp.org.

More about the LDS Church's humanitarian efforts is found at: www.lds.org.

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E-mail: lynn@desnews.com