World Porridge Day Date in the current year: October 10, 2024

Porridge is a staple food in many countries, including much of Africa and Northern Europe. It is made by boiling chopped, crushed, or ground starchy plants—typically grain—in water or milk. Grains used for porridge include oat, rice, barley, wheat, buckwheat, semolina, corn, sorghum, quinoa, and others. Some types of porridge have their own names such as Russian kasha, American grits or Italian polenta.

Why did Mary’s Meals create a holiday dedicated to porridge? The thing is that its largest school feeding programs are in Malawi and Liberia, where the children’s ration is based on maize porridge. World Porridge Day was created to show that a handful of porridge can make a difference and become a real salvation for a chronically hungry child.

On the occasion of World Porridge Day, the Scottish village of Carrbridge hosts the World Porridge Making Championship. The Championship was inaugurated in 1994 and has taken place alongside World Porridge Day since 2009. The winner of the competition is awarded a prize named the Golden Spurtle (a spurtle is a wooden Scottish kitchen tool used to stir porridge).