Hunger Action Congregations Covenant with instructions and links to resources

Hunger Action Congregation Resources

Below are the instructions as well as webpage links for resources and more information, plus a link to the list of recommended books.

* The covenant form to be filled out online is at bit.ly/hungeractionform

The purpose of the Hunger Action Congregation process is to: 
(1) acknowledge and celebrate the faithful work of Presbyterians happening around the country to alleviate hunger and end its causes, and
(2) to encourage these ministries to be even more holistic and justice-oriented.

Step 1:  Form a Hunger Action Team (if you don’t already have a similar team or committee to steward this work) 

A)  Gather church members – including children and youth – who are passionate about addressing hunger, poverty and related injustices. Decide how often you’d like to meet to to assess and grow the church’s practices in this area.
B)  Together, review the Covenant below. You will likely want a record of your application, so please DOWNLOAD, print,  and fill it out.
C)  Then, you will be ready to cut-and-paste from the Word document into the online form, which is the official application.

Step 2:  Covenant to Become a Hunger Action Congregation

1)  Covenanting: If you are doing hunger-related work in one or more of the six areas (see below), check the activities you are currently doing. Be sure to invite children and youth to participate. You can submit the covenant anytime, and September 15 is the annual deadline so the Hunger.Action Congregations can be announced in time for World Food Day on October 16. You will be recognized on the PHP website as a Covenanting Hunger Action Congregation for three years. PHP will communicate with you periodically with updates, opportunities, and stories from other congregations to encourage you to increase or broaden your hunger ministries into other areas.

2)  Certification: If you are doing activities in all six areas, after submitting the completed Covenant, you will be certified for three years as a Certified Hunger Action Congregation and will receive a certificate to post in your church. You can renew certification by describing a new area of work or by submitting a story about your work for publication on social media and for possible use in the PHP Post justice journal. We will send you a reminder before the 3 years have expired.

Ending Hunger and Its Causes:  Six Areas

1. Hunger Alleviation: providing and/or sharing food in a dignified way with an eye to long-term structural solutions
2. Development assistance: addressing the root causes of hunger and poverty through equitable and sustainable development
3. Hunger Education: learning about systemic causes of hunger, leading towards faithful action that is informed and directed by directly affected people and partners
4. Lifestyle Integrity: adopting sustainable personal and corporate lifestyles to restore justice and protect all of God’s creation
5. Corporate and Public Policy Witness: advocating and campaigning for changes in policies and practices to end hunger and its causes, promote self-development, and care for creation
6. Worship: incorporating prayer, education, and preaching about ending hunger and its causes into worship

Hunger Action Congregation Covenant

1. Hunger Alleviation

Providing and/or sharing food in a dignified way with an eye to long-term structural solutions

• Raise funds to end hunger around the world; give to the Presbyterian Hunger Program, to Cents-Ability, or
• Support a feeding program with volunteers and/or financial support, or run one yourself. [Start/operate a soup kitchen | Find a food pantry | Meals on Wheels | Backpack Program]
• Host or support (financial and/or volunteer) a Summer Food Service Program.
• Start or participate in a Community Garden or host a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).
• Partner with another church in your area to support their hunger ministry.
• An action your congregation is doing in this area:

2. Development assistance
   Addressing the root causes of hunger and poverty through equitable and sustainable development

• Support the Presbyterian Hunger Fund, which provides grants to organizations in the United States and around the world doing this work.
• Support a development and/or training initiative overseas that builds local power, equity, and long-term prosperity.
• Become a Jubilee Congregation and work for economic justice locally and globally.
• Run a shelter for the unhoused, or support one with volunteers and/or financial support.
• Join or create a local food policy council.
• Support an existing cooperative grocery or get one going in your community.
• Organize a job training program, or support one with volunteers and/or financial support.
• An action your congregation is doing in this area:

3. Hunger Education

Learning about systemic causes of hunger, including racial, gender and economic injustices

• Use the Just Eating? Practicing Your Faith at the Table curriculum (adult or middle school version, or both. Also available: Spanish, Latin American, and African American Congregational versions.)
• Invite someone from a local anti-hunger or anti-poverty program, particularly a person who is directly impacted, to speak at a study session or during worship.
• Host a Hunger Banquet, Simple Meal, or Local Foods Potluck
• Christian education, such as a Bible study or topical seminar.
• Do a book [See list of recommended book]
  PC(USA) co-moderators have recommended Waking Up White and Always With Us? What Jesus Really Said About the Poor.
• Show a film or film series on hunger, poverty or injustice, and follow with discussion; contact php@pcusa.org if you need ideas.
• Go on a Presbyterian Hunger Program Reflection-Action Trip.
• Participate in World Food Day / Food Week of Action or participate in or organize other hunger root cause events.
• Volunteer (See opportunities for short-term service, internships, and mission work trips on the OGHS Engagement Map).
• Join with another congregation in a hunger-related mission work experience.
• Participate in listening projects and dialogue about the current and historical context of race and privilege, learning and practicing sensitivity about power dynamics and these issues.
• Send representatives to Ecumenical Advocacy Weekend in Washington, D.C. and have a report-back event or church newsletter article about it.
• An action your congregation is doing in this area:

4. Lifestyle Integrity

Adopting sustainable personal and corporate lifestyles to restore justice and protect all of God’s creation

• Become an Earth Care Congregation.
• Join the Presbyterian Coffee Project and offer fair trade coffee, tea, chocolate and more.
• Do another Fair Trade activity and describe
• Host a fair trade/alternative market. Contact Maudlin@pcusa.org
• Use Eco-Palms on Palm Sunday.
• Use pitchers of water or other environmentally-friendly options at all church events rather than bottled water.
• Study lifestyle issues and have individuals take actions in their own lives. [Visit Enough for Everyone’s Just Living page for ideas and resources; also, the Lent 4.5 curriculum is available from PHP; contact php@pcusa.org for information.]
• Recycle
• An action your congregation is doing in this area:

5. Corporate and Public Policy Witness

Advocating and campaigning for changes in policies and practices to end hunger and its causes, promote self-development, and care for creation

• Do an Offering of Letters on the Bread for the World priority for the year.
• Advocate for more livable wages.
• Call on Wendy’s to join the Fair Food Program.
• Find out about local wages and current local campaigns, state wages and campaigns and work for an increase in minimum wage.
• Encourage TIAA-CREF, the pension company, to stop investing in land markets, which drive land grabs, speculation and deforestation by signing the letter to TIAA.
• Advocate for an end to hunger and its causes by contacting Congress through the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness (see advocacy guide).
• Visit elected officials and/or their staff.
• Choose and describe an action or actions your congregation is doing in this area: 

6. Worship
   Incorporating prayer, education, and preaching about ending hunger and its causes into worship

• Focus on the biblical and theological grounding for hunger and poverty work, and incorporate these into worship through
• Sermons on hunger, poverty and injustice
• Prayers, litanies, minutes for mission on hunger
• Music and hymns on these topics
• Video, skits and other activities during worship
• Choose and describe an action or actions your congregation is doing in this area:

Contact php@pcusa.org with questions, ideas or comments.