Tony Robbins reveals his personal passion for feeding hungry people: 'Shows that strangers care'

The announcement comes on Giving Tuesday - significant because Robbins has pledged to match most donations that come in, whether from individuals or groups.

"If, on Giving Tuesday, someone wants to donate a dollar up to $2 million, I'll match it," said Robbins. "So you'll get to double the amount of impact if you'd like to participate."

Robbins revealed in some detail his personal connection to the issue of hunger in America and all over the world. (See the video at the top of this article.) 

"I grew up in a pretty tough environment. We didn't have any money," said Robbins, who today is based in Florida with his wife, Sage, and their children. 

He said his parents were also arguing at that time - "yelling at each other or blaming each other. And I have a younger brother and younger sister, five and seven years younger, and I'm trying to make sure they don't hear," said Robbins, describing his life as a child.

And then, he said, "there's a knock at the door."

And "long story short, this guy is holding two giant bags of groceries, and he had a pan with an uncooked frozen turkey on the ground [beside him]. He said, 'Is your father here?' And I was like, 'Just one moment.'" 

Robbins said the stranger was offering his family an amazing Thanksgiving meal simply out of the kindness of his heart - and as a boy from a family with very little, he said he felt "so excited," said Robbins. 

"I thought, 'This is going to be the most magical thing.'"

His dad, however, "did not have a positive reaction" to the offer at the door. 

"He looked at this man and said, 'We don't accept charity.'"

There was an uncomfortable exchange as his father attempted to close the door - and finally there came "a moment I'll never forget," said Robbins. 

"My dad turned bright red," said Robbins. "I remember [seeing] the veins on the side of his neck. I thought, 'He's going to punch the guy in the face.' But he just dropped his shoulders. He took the food and set it down."

Said Robbins, "And I was excited. Up until that moment, I couldn't understand what was going on with [my father], but he didn't take care of his family. And he left our family a few days later. It was one of the roughest moments in my life - but it was also the best moment because there was food."

And so, said Robbins, he "set a goal that when I was older, when I was 17, I'd feed at least two families - and the next year I did four and then eight."

Once he was in business and was able to help others on a larger scale, "we got into 50 and 100 - and then 100,000. Then finally we got it up to two million people through my foundation and two million through my wife and me."

From there, over time, he dramatically increased his numbers and his connection with partners in the endeavor.

Together with Beasley, formerly of the World Food Programme, "we put together this project. And the National Pasta Association, International Pasta, Feed My Starving Children, Manna Nutrition, the government of Dubai - all of them are participating. And Global Citizen is giving us a platform to reach more people. So it's not just me. But together, what we can do is amazing."

He said that no child should have to die of hunger anywhere in the world.

Global hunger has risen sharply in recent years - with acute hunger surging to 730 million people following the pandemic, according to Robbins and his team. 

Additionally, some 30 million people "are on the brink of famine."

Robbins told Fox News Digital, "I think if I hadn't grown up hungry, if I hadn't suffered, I don't think I would work this hard. But when you've suffered this much, you don't want anybody else to suffer. And when I go to various parts of the world, including in this country where people are food insecure, I see that they don't have any food." 

He said these up-close visuals and experiences "almost bring me to tears. It's just a horrific thing to see a child who's starving in a world that's so abundant. And once you've seen those images in real life, not some picture [somewhere], you can't put it out of your mind."

He said this is why "it's not hard to keep your passion going, especially when you see the joy in people's eyes when that food is brought to them. Because it's more than food. For me, it's that people care. People are no longer alone. And I think we can all play that role."

Robbins noted the health benefits of giving to others. 

He said, "As human beings, the reason we survive is because of our connection to community. We can never make it on our own - but together we can do just about anything."