This text constitutes a history of the World Food Programme ‎(‎WFP‎)‎‎,‎ the food arm of the United Nations system‎.‎ It tells the story of the circumstances and origins of WFP and growth from modest beginnings as a three‎-year experiment in 1963‎-65‎,‎ to become the main source of international food aid for both disaster relief and development against the background of evolution and development of food aid‎.‎ The dual role of the WFP has placed it at the forefront of the United Nations attack on poverty‎,‎ hunger and food insecurity‎.‎