Our Friday Fast: Food for Thought

This year, CRS Rice Bowl celebrates our 40th anniversary.

In 1975, Catholic families in the United States were seeking a way to respond in global solidarity to famine in the Sahel region of Africa. Was there a way to help put food on the tables of the hungry through Lenten fasting and almsgiving? The answer, as it turned out, was yes-and it came in the form of a small cardboard box.

Forty years later, our goal is the same: Through our Lenten sacrifices, we put food on the tables of the hungry because that is what we are called to do as disciples of Christ. By promoting peace in conflicted lands, CRS Rice Bowl helps farmers plant crops and safely access markets for what they grow so they can provide for their families. By supporting education, CRS Rice Bowl envisions a future where young people can pursue their dreams freed from the shackles of hunger. And by providing for medical supplies, CRS Rice Bowl helps build healthier communities.

Food security means human security. When we talk about food security, we’re talking about giving all people everywhere safe access to the nutritious food they need to live healthy, productive lives. In the tradition of Catholic social teaching, CRS Rice Bowl emphasizes and promotes integral human development. We believe that our health, our food, our work-everything we do-contributes to who we are and who we become. Human development is holistic; in other words, what we eat, where we live, and the education we receive are interconnected and cannot be separated from how we develop. Just as the Eucharist anchors our spiritual lives, the availability of nutritious food is the cornerstone to all of our efforts for development and relief worldwide. Food security means human security because it means promoting healthy, active lifestyles for everyone.

Questions to Guide Your Reflection:

1. On Fridays during Lent, we fast from meat in solidarity with those around the world who go without. How can our fasting this Lent promote and protect those who are most in need?
2. Integral human development means caring for the whole person. Are there any aspects of myself that need more attention? How can I use this Lenten journey to focus on them?