Thursday, March 27, 2025
“Donate Food”
Today’s Challenge for Lent is another easy one, but it might be the most important one of the entire Season. Why?
In the United States alone, there are more than 47 million hungry people, including 1 in 5 children. This amounts to about 13.5% of the population. Considering that the US is typically considered the most wealthy and capable country in the world, the hunger statistics are astounding.
One in ten people in this country is hungry today. If we drove into town today, we’d probably see evidence of those who are hungry. Some of them are standing on the street corner with cardboard signs, while others are walking along the busy street from place to place. Most people in need, however, aren’t peddling for handouts. Most of them are working marginal jobs for menial pay. Multiple families live in the same home, sharing one car and trying to get everyone to school and work.
Speaking of school, 14 million children in the United States experienced hunger last year. Thankfully, many children are able to eat at school. But unfortunately, when they get home, they don’t eat. That means that Spring Break could be a week without food. Summer vacation could be several months without meals available.
Even if we want to ignore the statistics, we shouldn’t ignore our neighbors, the child who sits next to our child in the classroom, or the adults who struggle to find work that can sustain them. Today, let’s collect non-perishable food. Make plans to donate the food to a local shelter, nonprofit, and especially your local church.
At the Chapel, we are dedicating the entire month of April to helping with food insecurity. Lot’s of churches will be doing the same, but if they aren’t, the church will know where the food can go. Get it to them. If we give the world hunger problem some attention, we can make a real difference.
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in…” (Matthew 25:35, NIV)
