What we do
The Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) is a ministry of the PC(USA) working with congregations and partners around the globe to alleviate hunger and eliminate its causes.
To achieve this ambitious mission of the church, PHP works in partnership with programs that address hunger and its causes in the United States and around the world in five program areas as described in the Common Affirmation on Global Hunger. Through your gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing, PHP is able to support projects in our five program areas.
- Direct food relief
- Development assistance
- Influencing public policy
- Lifestyle integrity
- Education and interpretation
PHP provides educational, mission and action programs for Presbyterians passionate about living out God's call to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly. PHP staff coordinate each of the following programs which address many or all of the five areas above.
- Joining Hands Against Hunger
- Enough for Everyone
- Campaign for Fair Food
- Food and Faith Initiative
- Hunger Action Enablers
- Congregation-Based Community Organizing
Direct relief
925 million people in the world suffer from chronic hunger.1 (www.fao.org/hunger). While malnutrition and starvation affect more people in developing countries, hunger also stalks the poor in the United States. As Christians we demonstrate our love for sisters and brothers by supporting programs which ensure that food is available to those in need while also working on longer-term solutions.
In the United States, PHP supports congregational food pantries, soup kitchens and church gardens that provide fresh produce for those in immediate need. Internationally, PHP builds grain banks, provides local seeds to small farmers and helps establish food sovereignty in developing countries.
Development assistance
Acknowledging that we have much to learn from sisters and brothers, PHP encourages and supports land ownership by the poor, appropriate agricultural technology, rural community development, cooperative economic development, effective soil conservation, water resource development, equitable food distribution, community organizing, and nutrition education.
PHP grants support food cooperatives, job training, agricultural development, micro enterprise and micro credit, community organizing, nutrition education and water projects.
Influencing public policy
PHP recognizes that Presbyterians must stand for justice in those arenas where the voices of the poor are not heard. It supports organizations and coalitions which advocate for public policies that provide food for poor and hungry people and empower their self-development.
PHP grants and partnerships support advocacy for child nutrition programs, welfare reform that provides real opportunity, foreign aid directed toward the needs of the poor, sustainable agricultural practices and the survival of family farms, trade policies which protect the most vulnerable and debt relief for the poorest nations.
Lifestyle integrity
How we live our individual and family lives is a very personal matter, but it also has global implications. In this world where some go hungry because other consume too much, PHP encourages families, church groups, and institutions to evaluate their own needs and develop new ways of being more caring and sharing of the world's resources in obedience to the Gospel.
PHP provides resources for simpler lifestyles, simpler observance of Christmas, spiritual development and sharing resources.
Education and interpretation
Learning about hunger and our response to it begins with the Bible. The Old Testament abounds with stories, prophecies, and psalms about God's concern for justice for those who are oppressed and about God's desire that God's people will be instruments of that justice.
Likewise, the life and teachings of Jesus in the New Testament affirm his special love and ministry for the poor, the hungry and the downtrodden. As his disciples we are called to follow him in this love and ministry.
PHP provides resources for studying these scriptures, educates the church about hunger-related issues, and shares stories from programs supported by PHP grants. Through these efforts, it nurtures the connections between Presbyterians and God's people around the world.
PHP provides funding and staff support for a national network of Hunger Action Enablers, the development of Bible study resources, educational resources for congregations, programs educating the public on the reality of hunger and education and action resources for youth.
Joining Hands Against Hunger
Joining Hands is a holistic international hunger ministry. The program builds bridges of solidarity between coalitions of churches in the United States and networks of overseas churches, grassroots groups and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The focus of the program is to address the inequities and suffering resulting from the spread of globalization, through community education, advocacy, alternative economic activities, lifestyle changes and spiritual grounding. It aims at restoring the wholeness of God's creation and the healing of the human family across faiths, races and cultures through prayer, mutual visits, humble accompaniment, repentance and mutual transformation. Learn how your Presbytery or congregation can join hands with our partners overseas.
Enough for Everyone
Enough for Everyone is a lifestyle integrity and education program. It focuses on the big picture of our economic lives and asks not what our dollars do in the offering plate, but what our dollars do at the market place. It helps Presbyterians ask themselves questions like: Does my coffee provide good wages to small farmers or does it enrich CEOs at the expense of the producers? Are our Palm Sunday palms damaging God’s Creation? Is my savings account supporting development and womens rights or fueling human rights abuses? Were our youth group T-shirts printed in a sweatshop?
Enough for Everyone asks these questions through educational resources like the Just Living series, and through direct outreach to congregations via projects like the Presbyterian Coffee Project and the Global Marketplace. Learn more and get involved on the Enough for Everyone website.
Campaign for Fair Food
The PC(USA) Campaign for Fair Food addresses farmworker rights and human trafficking in the United States. The campaign specifically calls upon retail food corporations to end the poverty, forced labor and other human rights abuses faced by Florida tomato pickers by establishing socially responsible purchasing practices. Working in partnership with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and other supporting organizations, the campaign has been successful in achieving landmark agreements with some of the largest food corporations in the world: Yum! Brands (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC), McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, Whole Foods Market, Bon Appétit, and food service providers Compass Group, Aramark and Sodexo. These agreements are changing the very structure of the food system so that it ensures the well-being of the men and women who harvest. Stay up to date and take action on the Fair Food website.
Food and Faith Initiative
Food and Faith explores the relationship between our food sources and how they relate to our moral beliefs. It examines the physical and spiritual aspect of nourishment. The initiative exists online as a blog, but it weaves its way into nearly everything that PHP does. Much of PHP’s funding is allocated towards food justice for poor people in the United States and food sovereignty for developing nations worldwide. Presbyterians can learn about Food and Faith through educational resouces like the Just Eating Curriculum and by participating in special events such as the 12-month series of 40 hour fasts in response to the global food crisis. Visit the Food and Faith page for more information.
Hunger Action Enablers
PHP supports more than 50 Hunger Action Enablers (HAEs) in Presbyteries across the country. HAEs are individuals dedicated to hunger ministry in their local region. They raise money through CentsAbility to support local direct hunger relief programs and worldwide hunger ministries through PHP. Continue reading.
Congregation-Based Community Organizing
Four percent of the One Great Hour of Sharing Offering is designated for Congregation-Based Community Organizing (CBCO), a strategy for rebuilding communities, revitalizing congregations and developing individuals into effective leaders and change agents. The office of Small Church and Community Ministry together with the Presbyterian Hunger Program support CBCO through scholarships, trainings, organizations and networks. Learn more at the CBCO page.
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Comments
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What what great program.... It's up to all of us to help those in need regardless of creed....
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I am very encouraged to know of one Christian Church Denomination that is keeping the original purpose of Christian missions going - that of holistic development of the human being. More of your work need to be modelled accross the globe to teach the world how Christ wants development done. George Pile, Africa Inland Church, Kenya.
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I saw your works and achivements in presbyterian hunger program in USA and wish to know more about it.Christina