2009:  A Summer of need!

I daresay that none feel this economic crisis harder than those for whom it has ALWAYS been a time of economic crisis:  the hungry, the poor.

It is the RIGHT thing to do to reach out during these times and assist those who are hungry.  And there are MORE hungry people now than ever before!

FIVE ways to help: (Click on hyperlinks for more information!)

1. HOST A FOOD DRIVE AT YOUR CHURCH AND/OR BUSINESS – Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC is operating in crisis mode!  So are smaller agencies throughout the 18 counties of Second Harvest’s reach (roughly equivalent to the boundaries of Salem Presbytery).  And…with the state budget tied up in the North Carolina legislature, Second Harvest isn't getting the state funding it depends upon and expects each summer.  In short, Second Harvest is experiencing the worst shortage in the history of the organization.   Go HERE to learn how you and your congregation can make a difference this summer through Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC.  Recent local news articles HERE AND HERE.
   
   
2. GO ON A GLEAN – The Society of St. Andrew is a grassroots hunger relief ministry that relies on volunteers to glean nutritious produce from farmers' fields and orchards after harvest and deliver it to people in need across the United States.   Emily Reeve would love to talk with you about scheduling a gleaning.  Contact Emily at:  gleantriad@endhunger.­org   To donate food from your farm, call (919) 683-3011.  Read a recent article about gleaning in the Triad HERE. 
   
   
3. JOIN THE MONTHLY FAST – No, it is not about fasting for a month.  But you can learn so much about God, food, each other, and your own spirituality by participating with Presbyterians around the country in monthly 40-hour fasts to help discern ways to respond to the Global Food Crisis.  The fasts typically take place on the first weekend of every month, beginning on Friday evening and ending with Communion or a communal meal on Sunday.  The upcoming fast is July 31 – August 1.   The Focus: Land and the Food Crisis  Country: Korea
   
   
4. MAKE A PHONE CALL – Back in June I excitedly participated in Bread For The World’s National Gathering and Lobby Day.  It was my first experience at lobbying and it WILL NOT be my last.  Over 350 of us gathered for training at Lutheran Church of the Reformation on Capitol Hill and then we spangled out to appointments with our Senators and Representatives.  The issue Bread For The World is currently focused on is the co-sponsorship of H.R. 2139 - The Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009.  Why is this important?  The United States’ foreign assistance policy was written in 1961!!  A lot has changed in the world since Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle were in their homerun battle.  Agreed??!!  You can make SUCH a difference by calling your Representative’s office and asking him/her to cosponsor H.R. 2139.  Easy instructions can be found HERE.  AND… anyone - regardless of age - can write a letter or make a phone call.  Exercise your constitutional right and help make a difference for hungry & poor people around the world by simply talking on the phone!!!  Do it TODAY!!
   
   
5. READ A BOOK – C’mon, you’re looking for something more substantial in your summer reading.  I just know it!!  Try one of these titles and learn a bit for yourself, your family, and others.  Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food:  An Eater’s Manifesto – I recently started this book in which the author expounds upon the following:  “Eat food.  Not too much.  Mostly plants.”  Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle – Kingsolver documents a year of their family eating as much of their food as possible from neighboring farms and their own backyard.

You can learn more about the Presbyterian Hunger Program and the virtual smorgasbord of ways to be involved in this most important ministry HERE. 

In the bond,

Bryan McFarland