The power of satellite imagery-derived information for alleviating food insecurity is well known. Spatial information based on remote sensing has being used for nearly 30 years in famine early warning systems and for supporting vulnerability assessments and mapping. The interest for timely information at the regional scale continues to increase, triggered by recent global challenges to food security such as soaring food prices or the rapidly growing numbers of undernourished people. However, while the remote sensing research community is one of the most prolific in producing high-level scientific outputs, when it comes to implementing and running operational systems and providing decision-makers with reliable and clear information only few organizations worldwide can provide continuous and standard services. Effective communication from the scientific level to the decision-makers often remains a problem and the final impact on improving food security for vulnerable societies is not well known. For these reasons, it appears of high interest to present recent progress in bridging the gap between science and society in the use of satellite information in a food security context and to provide an overview of the systems that are faced daily with the challenge of translating science into action. The European Commission Joint Research Center, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have worked over many years in developing new methodologies and will present recent results and future challenges.