Food-Force for change

Food Force is just what its name implies. It is a message about food, something that we in advanced countries like the United States take for granted, and it is a force for educational attainment about the often unpleasant realities of life on the planet in the face of natural disasters and political realities.

"The message of this game—helping the hungry—is transnational," said James Morris, Executive Director of the United Nation's World Food Programme and its online worldwide phenomenon—a game of adventure and learning.

"Thousands of enthusiastic comments have been posted on the site from all over the world, and one of the recurring questions has been: 'When will you make Food Force in my language?'. Our answer has been: we're working on it."

The game (which is downloadable here at no cost) is an online challenge to respond to a disaster on the fictional South Asian Island of Sheylan in the Indian Ocean. A team of experts and you (the Team Rookie from anywhere on the planet), must move quickly and with reverance to the physical, political and bureacratic realities that abound to get food to those in desperate need caused by the catastrophe.

Your mission (which over 2 million people accepted in the first six months) is to plan and engage a multistep response. Immediate needs have to be met by air-dropping supplies. Then you must begin planning to arrange for a transportation mission to carry a healthy and nutritious caravan of dietary supplies to the Sheylanese with the goal of leaving this impoverished place a stronger, healthier place.

The expertise of a Nutritionist, a Logistics Officer, a Director of Purchasing, an Appeals Officer and A.L.I.T.E. ("If it can fly, I can fly it!") pilot come together to accomplish the mission and come in, of all things, under budget.

It does no good to challenge reality if it cannot be done in the face of the suffering of "real" people and "real" problems and processes. As your team navigates in as dramatic a fashion as any commercial blow'em up game, you as the Team Rookie cross the path of facts about worldwide starvation and malnutrition.

Sufficient to make any for-profit animation company shiver with envy, young people and adults from all over the planet are saying good things about Food-Force.

Addul Quadeer from India struggles a bit with English but proudly joins the chorus. "This game is full of adventure and strategy and a mind blowing game and also gives us a teaching on how to help others when they are in a problem. I once again congratulate the team for building this site and making a wonderful game."

The learning part is of particular importance. The WFP's site includes numerous lesson plans for teachers to incorporate the game into their school or other educational settings. Specific lesson plans are provided to help students learn what hunger is on a global scale, who the hungery are, why they are hungry and even what can be done to help outside of the dynamics of a virtual playing field.

From the perspective of the WFP's director, both his and the game's expectations are being met. Though originally introduced in English, young people from Japan were the most enthusiastic about the game from its inception, with U.S. players joining in large numbers. The Japanese version is now online. Chinese, French and Italian versions are on the way too.

If those who came up with this idea are not careful, they might soon find that the entire planet will be engaged together as a magnificent force for change.