On World Food Day join the global movement to end hunger. Here are some disturbing statistics from the United Nations Food Programme on this global problem.

  • 800 million people do not have enough to eat.
  • Hunger kills more people every year than malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS combined.
  • One in nine people in the world will go to bed hungry tonight.
  • Around 45 percent of infant deaths are related to malnutrition.
  • Women make up a little over half of the world's population, but they account for 60 percent of the world's hungry.

Hunger is common in America, despite its image as the land of plenty. For one in six people in the United States, hunger is a reality. Many people believe that the problems associated with hunger are confined to small pockets of society, certain areas of the country, or certain neighborhoods, but the reality is much different. Hungry Americans are often hard-working adults, children, or seniors who simply cannot make ends meet and are forced to go without food for several meals or even days.

To Name This Day:

Take Action

Make a contribution or volunteer your services at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter.

Prayers & Mantras

Pray for those who are starving and those who are living in food deprived households.

Spiritual Practices

"The beggar's bowl is both a physical reality among the poor and a spiritual symbol of our neediness. Fasting is a method for experiencing that neediness in a physical way. Select a small cereal bowl before you go to bed and place a flower and some water in it. Begin your fast in the morning by making the intention that your hunger will be a form of prayer for the homeless in your area. Eat nothing all day. In the evening, remove the flower and water, and limit your dinner to the amount of food that will fit in the bowl."
— Tom Cowan in The Way of Saints