World Hunger

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“For I was hungry, and you gave me food…”

The World Hunger Task Force of the Upper Susquehanna Synod, in partnership with ELCA World Hunger,  invites congregations and individuals to join in Christ’s call to serve “the least of these”.  In addition to direct financial support for relief and development, feeding the hungry also involves providing education about the problem of hunger, and advocating for systemic change that benefits the poor and hungry.

  • For synod-grown resources to educate people about the problem of hunger, click here.  These resources were first developed for use in congregations for a seasonal (Lent) emphasis on hunger education.

  • For information and resources about our call to be advocates for the hungry, click here.

 

The synod’s World Hunger Task Force works to encourage sisters and brothers in faith to work together to feed the hungry, because…

  • Jesus said, “You give them something to eat,” when the disciples told him about the thousands of hungry people who were listening to his preaching (Mark 6:34-44).
  • The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s best estimate of the number of hungry people worldwide for 2010 remains at 925 million (reported October 2011).
  • In September 2011, a new federal government report showed that more Americans were in poverty in 2010 than at any other time since poverty levels were first published 52 years ago. The poverty rate in 2010 was 15.1 percent, the highest rate in 17 years, according to U.S. Census.
  • More than 2 million Pennsylvanians, or approximately 16.4 percent of our state population, do not have enough money to buy enough food for themselves or their families, according to the most recent survey by the Food Research and Action Center.
  • Pennsylvania has reported a 43.9 percent increase in the need for food assistance since 2008, with more than 1.36 million residents now eligible for the State Food Purchase Program, the state’s most important tool in the fight against hunger.
  • Funding for the State Food Purchase Program has dropped 7.5 percent over the same period.  

(Statistics from Hunger-Free Pennsylvania: http://www.hungerfreepa.org/#!resources)

 

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