WFP delivers all kinds of food all around the world including this can of Palm Oil in Tanzania. (Photo: Tom Haskell/WFP )

In the aftermath of a hurricane, earthquake, tsunami, flood, or drought, getting food to stricken areas can mean the difference between life and death for disaster victims. Young children are especially at risk.

The first step in helping survivors is finding them and figuring out what they need.

The World Food Programme begins its life-saving mission by searching through devastated areas for survivors.

"We have to estimate how much food, how many people, and how long they'll need to be fed," says Maggie Carrington of the WFP.

The search phase can be done by airplane, but more often, scouting teams do their work on the ground, traveling by car or by foot. Besides providing the WFP with accurate counts of the hungry, teams also attempt to locate the quickest routes for transporting food.

"The initial teams take 24 to 48 hours," says Carrington. "WFP can have an operation up and running within 24 hours."

The clock is always ticking. They must get food to the youngest disaster survivors quickly.

"For kids 0 to 5, because they are developing so quickly, any sort of malnutrition has permanent damage to them physically and mentally," says Carrington.

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