Enough ??

March 21 to 22, eight teens and two young adults came together for our annual Catholic Relief Services Food Fast.   CRS Food Fast is CRS’ hunger awareness experience for Catholic youth. By spending time in the shoes of people who go hungry, Catholic youth deepen their faith and strengthen their yearning to bring change to our world!

Our fast began at 11:30 am Saturday March 21 and ended at 11:30 am (after 10:30 am mass) Sunday March 22.   We were able to eat 1 bowl of rice and have some juice as part of the fast. Water was available throughout. We did have 3 diehard participants who rallied 24 hours with water only!

This year on our food fast we learned that more than 1 billion people (over one-sixth of the world) suffer from hunger. That is greater than the combined populations of the United States, Canada and the European Union! We also learned that most of the hungry suffer from a lack of food security. Food security means that ‘all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.’ (World Health Organization). The trap of poverty, lack of investment in agriculture, climate and weather, war and displacement, unstable markets and food wastage all contribute to lack of food security.

The good news is this; In fact there is enough food in the world to feed every person 2700 calories per day! God is an abundant and generous God! Through the efforts of Catholic Relief Services, people in developing countries are being taught how to grow their own food, raise chickens, and form small businesses and microfinance communities. It is making a difference!

Through sponsorship, our participants raised $230 to help support Catholic Relief Services efforts. In addition, we organized a food drive and collected a generous amount of food and money from the residents of High Crest Lake for the food pantry.

It was a great 24 hours!