Brazilian celebrity chef and TV personality Rita Lobo named World Food Programme's High-Level Supporter in Brazil
Leveraging her audience of nearly 4 million followers on social media, 4 million monthly users on her website, in addition to millions more on television, Rita Lobo will use her expertise to shed light on adequate and healthy diets and how to reduce food waste and avoid ultra-processed foods.
“Being designated WFP’s High-Level Supporter is a great honour. It allows me to share my message with a diverse set of stakeholders, such as public schools staff and students and smallholder farmers”, said Rita Lobo. “I will also bring WFP to my platforms, sharing achievements and needs to my audience, because effectively publicizing the agency’s works and campaigns is a key factor in maximizing its reach – and helping people,” she added.
Well-known and loved in Brazil, Rita Lobo is also a best-selling author, with over 10 published books. For over 20 years, Rita has been a trusted advocate for healthy food in Brazil and is known for encouraging people to pursue a healthy diet while helping them to learn how to cook simple and nutritious meals. She is convinced that the ability to prepare one’s own meal is a lifechanging skill and impacts people’s health and finances as well. In addition, innovating cooking is a powerful way of avoiding food waste.
Rita Lobo has been an active supporter of the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil since 2021, taking part in global campaigns and using her social media to share messages on WFP’s work. The WFP Centre of Excellence in Brazil is the result of a partnership between WFP and the Brazilian government. The mission of the Centre is to support developing countries to create and implement sustainable solutions against hunger inspired by successful experiences developed in Brazil. It also acts as a global hub for policy dialogue and learning about school feeding, smallholder farming, nutrition and food security-related activities.
“We couldn’t be happier to have Rita Lobo join our efforts to end hunger. We commend her dedication and commitment to sharing information based on evidence and inspiring millions of people to make better choices, impacting not only their health, but also how our food systems work”, said Daniel Balaban, Director of the WFP Centre of Excellence. “The wellbeing of future generations is at risk, and we must count on the support of people such as Rita to be able to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.”
Alongside her work with WFP, Rita Lobo will continue to promote healthy eating throughout the media. In addition to the website, her successful series on cable TV and a new best-selling book, she has created and stars a new TV series due to air in November on Brazil’s largest broadcast TV channel. In this new show, she visits homes and street markets to show how the “Brazilian diet” – a healthy meal based on rice, beans, greens and meat – is not only highly nutritious but also a cultural asset, eaten daily all over the country and by all social classes.
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The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
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