One of the daily talk shows on my local NPR station had a segment on this topic last Friday. They interviewed John Coonrod, VP of the Hunger Project, who made some very interesting points about the causes of hunger, the (in)effectiveness of awareness programs, etc. He claims the main cause of hunger and poverty is the poor status of women so the main focus of his group is grassroots education and empowerment.
You can download the mp3 of the (cut short due to breaking news about a Supreme Court judge that unexpectedly retired) segment here
You can check out the Hunger Project's website here
(All links open in new windows)