It was December 1947 and Captain Allan Smithies would not be home for Christmas. The Captain of the American Leader vessel was on a special mission playing the role of Santa Claus.

As reported in the Hartford Courant, Smithies was guiding a ship of food from America to France. The food would be a wonderful Christmas gift for the French people who were suffering from hunger in the aftermath of World War II.

This precious food was collected in America by the Friendship Train which ran coast to coast during the autumn of 1947. Once Captain Smithies reached France, the food would be loaded again onto trains for delivery to those in need.

Back home in Norwalk, Connecticut, Mrs. Smithies and their three children were excited to hear that Allan had safely reached the French port of Le Havre. Reporter Volney Hurd of the Christian Science Monitor said the tall, 6’5” Captain Smithies dominated the dockside ceremonies upon arrival looking like a Hollywood star. A “beautiful Christmas story” would begin in France as the food deliveries got started.

As reported by Mallory Browne in The New York Times, French children were cheering wildly with joy as the food arrived in Paris. The Mayor of Paris made a speech describing how the special Christmas gift came to be. A journalist, Drew Pearson, came up with the idea for the Friendship Train in America to collect food donations for Europe. The Friendship Train would travel across many states collecting food donations in cities and towns.

School children in America were thrilled about the chance to play Santa Claus. These kids donated the cost of their school lunches to the Friendship Train.

This was just two years after the end of World War II. Children in France had known nothing but war for years amid hunger and poverty. A drought had hit Europe in the summer of 1947, bringing more hardship and hunger on the population.

But then America’s Friendship Train arrived in France in time for Christmas bringing food. French children would be having lunches at school for weeks to come thanks to this gift. Mothers would have food for their undernourished children.

After the celebration in Paris, more food trains were dispatched into the French countryside to make Santa’s deliveries. The Associated Press reported 10 trains would deliver food to regions of France. Charities including Catholic Relief Services handled the food distribution. The food and hope was a wonderful Christmas present America sent to France with the Friendship Train.

But this Christmas story does not need to end here. In fact, it needs another chapter which you can help write. There are starving children right now across the globe that need a Christmas miracle so they can eat.

Refugees fleeing war-torn Sudan, including the Darfur region, need food assistance from the UN World Food Program (WFP). Tragically, funding from the international community has not kept pace with this crisis and others. WFP, because of this low funding, has been forced to cut rations in many countries.

In Afghanistan low funding is leading to cuts in food aid for the hungry. Wars in Gaza, Yemen and the D.R. Congo have led to food shortages. The starving victims of these conflicts need our help. Millions of people are facing starvation daily across the globe because of wars and drought.

The Friendship Train brought food to France and other European nations during a desperate time. The Christmas of 1947 would have been one of severe hunger without the generosity of the American people.

This Christmas we can send gifts of food to other nations suffering from hunger by donating to WFP, CARE, Mary’s Meals, Save the Children, Edesia, Mercy Corps, Catholic Relief Services, UNICEF, Action Against Hunger and other charities.

We can each play the role of Santa Claus and help children get life-saving food for Christmas.

William Lambers is an author who partnered with the UN World Food Program on the book “Ending World Hunger.”