October 16, 2005 or

Churches across the country celebrate World Food Day as an opportunity to renew their commitment to end hunger in God’s world. This year, major church bodies, religious organizations, and congregations are all participating in a global effort to overcome poverty and disease in Africa, the United States, and around the world. Today, we give thanks for the work of organizations, which have enabled so many to be effective advocates for hungry people. We reflect on god’s gifts of food and well-being, we pray for those in need, and we renew our commitment to share our abundance with others.

1. Pray and reflect. The time of harvest is an opportunity to give thanks to God and to remember our brothers and sisters in need. Solidarity with hungry and poor people is one way for a community to grow in faith and serve God.
2. Take advantage of hunger resources. There is a wealth of resources to help your church prepare for and carry our your celebration, such as bulleting inserts for use during worship or distribution at coffee hour. For a complete listing of resources visit www.bread.org.
3. Integrate advocacy into your hunger ministry. As faithful citizens, raise your concerns about hunger in the U.S. and other parts of the world to those who represent you in Washington. In your celebration of World Food Day, you may want to write letters to Congress on specific legislation that will benefit hungry people.
4. Make a commitment to Bread for the World to end hunger. By giving financially or becoming a Covenant Church, your parish can become a partner with the nation’s largest faith-based grassroots ecumenical advocacy organization on international and domestic hunger issues. The Archdiocese of Chicago, as well as the larger U.S. Catholic church is a member of Bread for the World.
5. Engage youth. Tap into the energy and enthusiasm of youth and children. Fasts, musicals, volunteering at a local food bank have great potential to energize and entire congregation and to celebrate your commitment to seeking an end to hunger.
6. Be creative. Church newsletters, education classes, displays, bulletin articles are great ways to share with your parish the issues facing hungry and poor people. Soup suppers, hunger meals, fasts, or baking and selling or distributing bread are just a few possible hunger-awareness activities for all ages.

World Food Sunday Prayer

Leader: Almighty God, ruler of the universe, you made the earth, the sea, the sky,

and all the living creatures. All creation worships you.

People: We praise you, Lord of all.

Leader: You made each of us unique, and stamped all of us with your image. You

gave us hearts to love, minds to think, and strength to work and play.

People: We belong to you, Lord of all.

Leader: You made the earth fruitful, so that everyone may have enough to eat, and be satisfied.

People: We thank you, Lord of all.

Leader: But we are not always satisfied with enough. We do not always share the good things you have given us. We do not always see your image in each other, and so we allow our own brothers and sisters to go hungry while we eat.

People: We ask your mercy, Lord of all.

Leader: Restore us, Lord to your perfect image. Open our eyes and hearts to see you in all people. Open our minds and our mouths to speak out for an end to hunger. Strengthen our hands and our communities to care for those who are hungry. Let us not be satisfied until all your people have enough, and hunger is no more.

People: AMEN.

Hunger Basics

Domestic Hunger and Poverty Facts

Hunger Persists in the U.S.

• 36.3 million people, including 13 million children, live in households that experience hunger. This represents more than one in ten households in the United States (11.2%). This is an increase of 1.4 million, from 34.9 million in 2002.
• 3.5 percent of U.S. households experience hunger. Some people in these households frequently skip meals or eat too little, sometimes going without food for a whole day. 9.6 million people, including 3 million children, live in these homes.
• 7.7 percent of U.S. households are at risk of hunger. Members of these households have lower quality diets or must resort to seeking emergency food because they cannot always afford the food they need. 26.6 million people, including 10.3 million children, live in these homes.
• Research shows that preschool and school-aged children who experience severe hunger have higher levels of chronic illness, anxiety and depression, and behavior problems than children with no hunger.

People facing hunger are increasingly turning to the Food Stamp assistance in feeding their families.

• Following years of decline, participation in the food stamp program has been on the rise over the past two years. In August 2004, over 24.6 million people participated in the food stamp program.
• While it is not possible to determine what caused the increase in participation from the data available, The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities argues it is likely that the majority of the increase can be attributed to the economic downturn. Due to loss of employment and income, more families probably became eligible for the food stamp program.

Churches and charities are straining to serve rising requests for pantries and soup kitchens, especially from working people.

• The U. S. Conference of Mayors reports that in 2004 requests for emergency food assistance increased an average of 13 percent. The study also found that 56 percent of those requesting emergency assister were members of families with children and that 34 percent of adults requesting such assistance were employed. High housing costs, low-paying jobs, unemployment, and the economic downturn led the list of reasons contributing to the rise.
• Over half the cities surveyed in the Mayors’ report (56 percent) said they are not able to provide an adequate quantity of food to those in need. And more than two in three cities (67 percent) reported they had to decrease the quantity of food provided and/or the number of times people can come to get food assistance. An average of 20 percent of the demand for emergency food assistance is estimated to have done unmet in the survey cities, up from 14 percent last year.
• America’s Second Harvest, the nation’s largest network of food banks, reports that 23.3 million people turned to the agencies they serve in 2001, an increase of over 2 million since 1997. 40 percent were from working families.

Hunger Basics

World Hunger and Poverty: How They Fit together

• 852 million people across the world are hungry, up from 842 million a year ago.
• Every day, more than 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes, one child every five seconds.
• In essence, hunger is the most extreme form of poverty, where individuals or families cannot afford to meet their most basic need for food.
• Hunger manifests itself in many ways other than starvation and famine. Most poor people who battle hunger deal with chronic undernourishment and vitamin or mineral deficiencies, which result in stunted growth, weakness and heightened susceptibility to illness.
• Countries in which a large portion of the population battles hunger daily are usually poor and often lack the social safety nets we enjoy, such as soup kitchens, food stamps, and job training programs. When a family that lives in a poor country cannot grow enough food or earn enough money to by food, there is nowhere to turn for help.

Facts and Figures on Population

• Today our world houses 6.39 billion people.
• The United States is a part of the developed or industrialized world, which consists of about 50 countries with a combined population of only 0.9 billion, less than one sixth of the world’s population.
• In contrast, approximately 5 billion people live in the developing world. This world is made up of about 125 low and middle-income countries in which people generally have a lower standard of living with access to fewer goods and services than people in high-income countries.
• The remaining 0.4 billion live in countries in transition, which include the Baltic states, eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Facts and Figures on Hunger and Poverty

• In the developing world, more than 1.2 billion people currently live below the international poverty line, earning less than $1 per day.
• Among this group of poor people, many have problems obtaining adequate, nutritious food for themselves and their families. As a result, 815 million people in the developing world are undernourished. They consume less than the minimum amount of calories essential for sound health and growth.
• Undernourishment negatively affects people’s health, productivity, sense of hope and overall well-being. A lack of food can stunt growth, slow thinking, sap energy, hinder fetal development and contribute to mental retardation.
• Economically, the constant securing of food consumes valuable time and energy of poor people, allowing less time for work and earning income.
• Socially, the lack of food erodes relationships and reeds shame so that those most in need of support are often least able to call on it.
• Poor nutrition and calorie deficiencies cause nearly one in three people to die prematurely or have disabilities, according to the World Health Organization.
• Pregnant women, new mothers who breastfeed infants, and children are among the most at risk of undernourishment.
• 153 million children under 5 in the developing world are underweight. Worse yet, 11 million children younger than 5 die every year, more than half from hunger-related causes.
• Most of these deaths are attributed, not to outright starvation, but to diseases that move in on vulnerable children whose bodies have been weakened by hunger.
• Every year, more than 20 million low-birth weight babies are born in developing countries. These babies risk dying in infancy, while those who survive often suffer lifelong physical and cognitive disabilities.
• The four most common childhood illnesses are diarrhea, acute respiratory illness, malaria and measles. Each of these illnesses is both preventable and treatable. Yet, again, poverty interferes in parents’ ability to access immunizations and medicines. Chronic undernourishment on top of insufficient treatment greatly increases a child’s risk of death.
• In the developing world, 27 percent of children under 5 are moderately to severely underweight. 10 percent are severely underweight. 8 percent of children under 5 are moderately to severely wasted, or seriously below weight for one’s height, and an overwhelming 32 percent are moderately to severely stunted, or seriously below normal heights for one’s age.

Facts and Figures on HIV/AIDS

• The spreading HIV/AIDS epidemic has quickly become a major obstacle in the fight against hunger and poverty in developing countries.
• Because the majority of those falling sick with AIDS are young adults who normally harvest crops, food production has dropped dramatically in countries with high HIV/AIDS prevalence rates
• In southern Africa, close to 500,00 people died of AIDS in 2001 alone, fueling a serious food crisis in 2002-2003 in which more than 14 million people faced hunger and starvation.
• Infected adults also leave behind children and elderly relatives, who have little means to provide for themselves. In 2001, 2.5 million children were newly orphaned in Southern Africa.
• Since the epidemic began, 25 million people have died from AIDS, which has caused more than 13 million children to lose either their mother or both parents.
• 42 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in the world, 92.8 percent of them in developing countries. 3 million are children under the age of 15. 2.0 million of those children live in the developing world, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

How to Help: Student Campus Advocacy that Works

Here are four successful ways students are effectively lobbying their members of Congress.

Organize letter-writing activities. A hand written letter is a powerful tool to influence Congress. Wooster College students wrote letters about important hunger-fighting legislation during their weekly Soup and Bread Program. After sharing a simple meal together, letter writers used sample letters posted around the room to write their own letters to Congress.

Build a telephone tree network. The Villanova University students created an email network of students who receive important messages about pending legislation. When immediate action is critical, members of the Villanova University telephone tree network call their members of Congress with a timely message.

Plan a community service event. Use service activities as an opportunity to educate about U.S. hunger and ways that national nutrition programs can help to meet the needs of hungry people. During a reflection time after the event, write letters to your members of Congress about your experience and urge them to support hunger-fighting legislation.

Utilize a community service event. Be sure to make use of all the free publicity media offers, such as the calendar column, letters to the editor, Op-Ed articles, and Public Service announcements. All these resources help to spread the message of social justice. Moreover, people listen whether they are fellow citizens or your elected representatives and your input assists in shaping debate as well as garnering support for your issue.

Hunger Awareness Activities

The following activities have been successful on many campuses to heighten awareness of hunger and enhance the impact of advocacy activities.

Food Waste Demonstrate the amount of food that students waste by weighing the food that is left on the trays and thrown away during lunch or

dinner at the cafeteria.

Sleep Out Host a sleep-out, inviting students to sleep outside in cardboard boxes. Contact the National Coalition for the Homeless for information on the “Grate Sleep Out.”

Fast Organize a fast. Participants can collect pledges for each hour they fast. If students give up a meal at a campus cafeteria, the cafeteria can donate the meals to a food shelter or money to a hunger organization.

Race A walk -a-thon or race can raise additional money through pledges.

Can Drive Collect cans and dry food in bins throughout campus. Clothes can also be collected to donate to a local shelter.

Musician Invite a musician or band to perform music that deals with social justice issues. The concert can raise money as well as inspire students.

Speakers Invite a staff member of a local soup kitchen or shelter to speak about hunger. This person could also recommend a welfare participant or homeless person to speak at the event. Invite a state or national level representative or staff member to speak about hunger-related policy.

Volunteer Commit to volunteer at a local soup kitchen or shelter.

Hunger Week Organize a Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. The week incorporates many of the activities listed above. A campus guide

can be ordered through the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness.

Hunger Banquet Educate individuals in learning about hunger through the eyes of those who experience it daily. Engage participants in a dramatization of the unequal distribution of resources and wealth in the world. Learn how to organize your own Hunger Banquet by visiting www.oxfamamerica.org .