A child tax credit poster is displayed during a news conference in Washington, D.C., on July 15. Early data shows that after the child tax credit payments went out this summer, the number of households with children who experience food insufficiency dropped. Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
Shaista sits in her tiny home on the outskirts of Kabul. Her youngest, a 3-year-old girl, sits on her lap; some of her other seven children sit beside her. Behind them, she is boiling a pot of water on the wood-burning stove. But she's told the children it is dinner, and she tells them, "just wait for your father." Then she hopes they'll fall asleep, because there's no food to give them. Diaa Hadid/NPR hide caption
New Yorkers in need receive free produce, dry goods and meat at a Food Bank For New York City distribution event in July. Hunger is one of the most urgent — yet hidden — crises facing the nation. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Food Bank For New York hide caption
People in the Andean city of Puno, Peru, lined up earlier this month to withdraw funds from their pensions. The World Food Programme says the number of people experiencing severe food insecurity in Latin America and the Caribbean could quadruple. Carlos Mamani/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Liege Camila Pistore Veras, Rafael Duckur, and Joana Luiza Mendes (left to right) load boxes of produce into a truck at a farm outside of Sao Paulo, Brazil. This produce, and more, will be distributed in favelas, poor urban neighborhoods where residents live in crowded homes and lack basic sanitation. Patrícia Monteiro for NPR hide caption
National Guard members help load up boxes at a food distribution center at Kingsbridge Armory in New York City last month. Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images hide caption
At a distribution of donated food in the Kibera community in Nairobi, there was a stampede as residents rushed for the limited supplies, with several injuries resulting. Khalil Senosi/AP hide caption
A family sells pastries in Mexico City. As Mexicans' wages have risen, their average daily intake of calories has soared. Meghan Dhaliwal/for NPR hide caption
A World Food Programme convoy carries humanitarian aid to Aleppo, Syria. Getting food into conflict zones is a major hurdle — and a topic of discussion at the WFP's Innovation Accelerator. Cem Genco/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images hide caption
Farmers in Aceh, Indonesia, are facing crop failure because of droughts. Jefta Images/Barcroft Media via Getty Images hide caption
Caleb Torres, a senior at George Washington University, says he ran out of grocery money his freshmen year, so he began skipping meals. The Washington Post/The Washington Post/Getty Images hide caption
Russian children clamor for food, circa 1941. During World War II, the Nazis sought to implement a "hunger plan" to starve millions from Russia and Eastern Europe. The Montifraulo Collection/Getty Images hide caption
One of many grocery stores in Venezuela where the shelves are bare. Even in regions such as Latin America that do well overall, there are glaring exceptions, such as Venezuela, where political turmoil has created massive price inflation and food shortages. Carlos Becerra/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images hide caption