Help Feed The World Project

A Four-Footed Attack Against Hunger:

A Midwestern farmer named Dan West was ladling out rations of milk to hungry children during the Spanish Civil War when it hit him.

"These children don't need a cup, they need a cow."

West, who was serving as a Church of the Brethren relief worker, was forced to decide who would receive the limited rations and who wouldn't - literally, who would live and who would die. This kind of aid, he knew, would never be enough.

So West returned home to form Heifers for Relief, dedicated to ending hunger permanently by providing families with livestock and training so that they "could be spared the indignity of depending on others to feed their children."

In 1944, the first shipment of 17 heifers left York, Pennsylvania, for Puerto Rico, going to families whose malnourished children had never even tasted milk. Learn about the cowboys who brought cows and kids together at Heifer International.

Why heifers? These are young cows that haven't yet given birth; making them perfect not only for supplying a continued source of milk, but also for supplying a continued source of support. That's because each family receiving a heifer agrees to; pass on the gift; and donate the female offspring to another family, so that the gift of food is never-ending.

This simple idea of giving families a source of food rather than short-term relief caught on and has continued for almost 60 years. As a result, millions of families in 115 countries are experiencing better health, more income and the joy of helping others.

-"Heifer is unique in its program to directly aid people around the world. ... With this project you get a much greater sense of a person-to-person relationship, which is very important." - Walter Cronkite, former managing editor and anchor of the CBS evening news

Heifer's Mission to End Hunger

Heifer envisions:
A world of communities living together in peace and equitably sharing the resources of a healthy planet.

Heifer's mission is:
To work with communities to end hunger and poverty and to care for the earth.

Heifer's strategy is:
To "pass on the gift." As people share their animals' offspring with others - along with their knowledge, resources, and skills - an expanding network of hope, dignity, and self-reliance is created that reaches around the globe.

Heifer's History:
This simple idea of giving families a source of food rather than short-term relief caught on and has continued for almost 60 years. Today, millions of families in 128 countries have been given the gifts of self-reliance and hope.

"Not just a cup, but a cow."

Dan West - Heifer Founder