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SDG 2 · Zero Hunger

One in thirteen people on Earth doesn't get enough to eat.

Eco Heroes turns that fact into a story an 8-year-old can hold onto: The Banker to the Poor, book 2 of 17 in the SDG Library.

The target, in plain language

What the UN actually promised

Target 2.1

By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.

Enough isn't the whole promise. The food has to be safe and nutritious, and it has to be there all year round, not only after a good harvest.

Target 2.2 goes further: end all forms of malnutrition. Stunting in children under 5 has fallen from 26.4 to 23.2 per cent, which means 30.2 million fewer children affected. Still far from zero.

Why it matters

The number behind the story

645M
people were chronically undernourished in 2025 That's 7.8 per cent of everyone on Earth, roughly 1 in 13 people not getting enough food, day after day.

Source: The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026, UN DESA. Figures as published in July 2026.

The story

The Banker to the Poor

The Banker to the Poor, SDG 2 book cover

The Banker to the Poor

Written by Ricardo Alcántara (Premio Lazarillo) · Illustrated by Julie Dufour

Book 2 of 17 in the Eco Heroes SDG Library, one illustrated story for each UN Sustainable Development Goal. Unlocked with any Eco Heroes plan (families from €79 a year), and every plan starts with a free month. Published in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Catalan.

Bring it into the room

Talk about it, try it

Discuss

One question to ask after reading

“Where did the last thing you ate come from, and how many people had to work so it could reach your plate?”

Try it: 15 minutes

Trace one meal back to the field

Pick today's lunch, list every ingredient and guess where each one was grown. Then talk about what would happen to that meal if one link in the chain broke: a drought, a closed road, a sudden price rise.

Seventeen goals, seventeen stories

Every SDG gets its own illustrated book, its own facts and its own activities. SDG 1 is always free. The rest unlock with a family, school or hotel plan.

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