The Hungry
“For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.” Matthew 25:35
The Hungry Compassion Initiative is how CityServe inspires, resources, and mobilizes churches to serve those who are food insecure.
Photo via Instagram, Radiant Life Church in Ohio distributing USDA Farmers to Families Food Boxes in the “Last Mile of Need”
800 million people
No one church can feed everyone, but every church can feed someone.
Reaching the Hungry
By Jenni Krippner
Director of The Hungry Compassion Initiative
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There are over 800 million people that go to bed hungry every night and over 53 million live in the United States. Of those 53 million, 12 million are children. Since 2019, those facing acute food insecurity have more than doubled for three primary reasons.
1) War and violence are responsible for 60% of the world’s hunger by forcing people out of their homes and wiping out their sources of income.
2) Natural disasters account for the displacement of over 30 million people globally in 2020 alone and have destroyed lives, crops, and livelihoods.
3) The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the world economy have driven hunger to a new level. It has disrupted supply chains and has contributed to major delays in shipping.
Increases in food and gas prices, food shortages and many other factors have put families in a bind, having to choose between paying their electricity bill, buying gas for their vehicles so they can get to work or buy food for the kitchen table.
Some food programs have been forced into the position of having to cut rations for the hungry to feed the starving.
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The Hungry Compassion Initiative is how CityServe inspires, resources, and mobilizes churches to serve those who are food insecure. By creating a greater awareness of the local need, as well as resources available to help meet the need, we can help build a bridge between the hurting and those who are called to help them. Matthew 25:34-35 says “Then the king will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave me food: I was thirsty and you gave me a drink… Mat 25:40- “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
There is a blessing and a special place prepared for those who care for others.
Though none of us can feed everyone, all of us can feed someone.
Let us help educate, equip, and when possible, resource your church to reach the hungry in your community.