The UN World Food Programme and the Development of Food Aid This is the first history to be written of the World Food Programme (WFP) the food aid arm of the United Nations System. It tells the story of the antecedents 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 the evolution and development of food aid. This dual role has put WFP in the front line of the United Nations attack on poverty hunger and food insecurity