Hunger & Poverty

Hurricane-ravaged Haiti still reeling eight months after Matthew

Anyone doubting whether climate change exists should pay a visit to Haiti. That’s the assessment from Valery Nodem, the Presbyterian Hunger Program’s international associate, who recently visited the country, nearly eight months after Hurricane Matthew

Rural farming community in India becomes organic farming model

Rural farmers in India are celebrating the certification of Udaipur’s Gati Village as Rajasthan’s first fully organic farming community. The designation will allow Gati to market its crops and products internationally. Nearly 300 farm families are covered by the designation as they seek to market major crops which include wheat and corn.

Interfaith leaders speak out on White House decision to withdraw from Paris climate accord

President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord is being met with harsh criticism from church leaders who have been strong advocates for the agreement and environmental causes. The president announced the decision yesterday saying the agreement favored foreign countries while hurting American workers.

Presbyterian churches to be celebrated for hunger work

For nearly 50 years, the Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) has worked with Presbyterians and global partners towards the common goal of ending hunger and poverty. Now PHP is expanding that to recognize congregations involved in hunger work through a covenant called Hunger Action Congregations.

Project Homeless Connect offers haircuts, help and hope

If robins are commonly recognized as harbingers of spring, then “Pastor Robyn” is widely acknowledged in Fort Worth, Texas, as a harbinger of spring’s — and Easter’s — promise of new life.

North Carolina woman leaves $2 million bequest to PDA and SDOP

While sorting through the papers of her late cousin Matilda Cartledge, Rebecca McClure found a couple of sentences in her recently-deceased relative’s handwriting that she says reflect Cartledge’s values. The unattributed sentences, which are a quote from President Franklin Roosevelt’s second inaugural address, read: ‘The test of our progress is not whether we add to the abundance of those who have much. It is whether we provide for those who have too little.’

Presbyterian fair-trade delegation in Nicaragua

A group of Presbyterians got some hands on experience in coffee farming during a recent trip to Nicaragua. The eleven-member delegation, which included staff from the Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP), World Mission and Equal Exchange, spent a week learning about fair trade and how the coffee is grown, processed and shipped to other countries.

Presbyterians to join thousands for People’s Climate March in Washington

More than 100,000 people are expected to take to the streets of Washington, D.C. on April 29 for the People’s Climate March. Thousands of activists, organizations, schools and churches will call on U.S. and other world leaders to do more to protect the environment. Activists have voiced concerns that many of the White House’s new policies will adversely impact progress that has been made.

Ohio church continues quest for energy-saving measures

Conserving energy and caring for the environment are not new tasks for Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Since the mid 1990s, the congregation has been committed to finding ways to cut energy costs, while improving the environment in their own community.