United Nations World Food Programme

In the foreground, a globe tilted to the right bearing the inscription "WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME", framed by ears of rice and wheat and a cob of corn as symbols of the world's three staple food sources. To the right of the stylised globe, the stacked letters "R" and "I" for "Repubblica Italiana", with the engraver Uliana Pernazza's smaller initials "U" and "P" below. The Rome Mint mark "R" appears at upper right of the globe; the year "2004" sits beneath the design.

Italy has a special institutional connection to the United Nations World Food Programme: the WFP is headquartered in Rome, the Italian capital, giving it a close organisational link to the country. Founded in 1961, the programme is today the world's largest humanitarian organisation providing food aid in crisis regions. Deploying hundreds of thousands of tonnes of staple foods each year - chiefly grain, pulses and cooking oils - the WFP supports people in conflict zones, after natural disasters, and in regions of persistent malnutrition. In 2020, the programme was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, underscoring the international recognition of its work.

The World Food Programme operates in close coordination with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which is also headquartered in Rome. This concentration of key UN food security agencies in Italy has historical roots: the FAO was founded in Quebec in 1945 but permanently relocated its headquarters to the Italian capital in 1951. The WFP emerged from a joint initiative of the FAO and the UN General Assembly and was initially set up as a three-year pilot project before developing into a permanent programme. To mark the WFP's fortieth anniversary, Italy issued a 2-euro commemorative coin in 2004, honouring this humanitarian institution.