October 16, 2024
Pulses (edible seeds of plants in the legume family
Oct. 16 is World Food Day. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization theme for 2024 is “Right to Foods for a Better Life and a Better Future”:
The world’s farmers produce enough food to feed more than the global population, yet hunger persists. Around 733 million people are facing hunger in the world due to repeated weather shocks, conflicts, economic downturns, inequality and the pandemic. This impacts the poor and vulnerable most severely, many of whom are agricultural households, reflecting widening inequalities across and within countries.
Food is the third most basic human need after air and water — everyone should have the right to adequate food. Human rights such as the right to food, life and liberty, work and education are recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and two legally binding international covenants.
“Foods” stands for diversity, nutrition, affordability and safety. A greater diversity of nutritious foods should be available in our fields, in our markets and on our tables, for the benefit of all.
In the Presbyterian Hunger Program, we walk alongside communities across the country and around the world as they creatively solve problems of hunger. This means supporting cattle farmers in Somalia; fisherfolk in Sri Lanka; women raising goats in Congo; Indigenous communities in the United States reclaiming land and traditional food ways in Alabama, South Dakota and New Mexico; Black farmers in New York and Virginia; community organizers and public policy advocates in Florida and Iowa; our own presbytery-based Hunger Action Advocates working across 14 presbyteries; and many more.
Where in your community and around the world do you see hunger? Where are people solving the problems of hunger? In addition to direct food relief, how can you support changing public policies and unjust systems, so all people have healthy, nutritious, affordable and safe food?
Rev. Rebecca Barnes, Coordinator, Presbyterian Hunger Program, Compassion Peace & Justice
Daily Readings
Today’s Focus: World Food Day
Let us join in prayer for:
PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Ralph Su, Associate, Asian Intercultural Congregational Support, Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Carla Sutton, Operations Admin, Presbyterian Foundation
Let us pray
Dear God, as we enjoy our meals at home and as we break bread together in the Lord’s Supper, help us to stay mindful of Jesus’ command for his disciples to give hungry crowds the food they need to live. Challenge us to demonstrate with our action and advocacy that we believe food is a basic human right and that all people deserve daily sustenance. In Christ we pray. Amen.
You may freely reuse and distribute this article in its entirety for non-commercial purposes in any medium. Please include author attribution, photography credits, and a link to the original article. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDeratives 4.0 International License.