World Food Day was founded by the Food and Agriculture Organization in 1945, and has been observed annually every Oct. 16 since 1981. It was established to increase awareness of world hunger and poverty and to inspire solutions for world change.
As we approach World Food Day 2022, there has been more conflict, more climate extremes, more inflation and rising prices and more hunger than anytime in the last five years. And all of this greatly impacts global food security.
As a Christian response to hunger, the Foodgrains Bank invites churches to mark World Food Day together.
For almost two decades, Trinity United Church in Vernon, B.C. has been using Canadian Foodgrains Bank’s resources to raise awareness and funds around World Food Day.
Joanne Rainer helps the efforts at her church because the Foodgrains Bank’s work around the world encourages her in many ways.
“The Foodgrains Bank is so innovative in the ways they’ve tackled world hunger,” says Rainer. “It’s an amazingly successful organization and they’ve done such a good job.”
The only issue she sees is not enough Canadians know about the Foodgrains Bank, particularly in British Columbia. And she is determined to change that.
She had concerns that the pandemic would affect the giving of the congregants at Trinity United, but their giving during 2020 and 2021 nearly doubled.
“They were the highest donations we’d ever raised,” she recalls. “I was blown away.”
Pray with us on World Food Day
Join together with other Christians and church communities from all across Canada in a moment of unity and prayer for an end to global hunger at National Prayer Gathering on World Food Day Oct 16 at 5:30pm CDT.
This article was originally published in the Fall 2022 edition of Breaking Bread. Download your copy here.
