Christians have been following Jesus’s directive to “feed my sheep” ever since He fed the five thousand along the banks of the Sea of Galilee. Two thousand years later, feeding His sheep remains one of the biggest issues that Christian charities face as hunger runs rampant across the globe.
Hunger around the world has been an ongoing issue, and the Covid-19 pandemic has only made a difficult challenge even tougher. According to the United Nations, 957 million people in 93 countries currently suffer from hunger — and those numbers are only expected to rise.
The task of ending hunger may seem insurmountable, but there are several Christian charities willing to roll up their sleeves, pitch in, and tackle this world-wide crisis. Let’s look at five Christian charities doing their best to literally follow Jesus’s admonition to feed His sheep by ending hunger worldwide.
Food for the Hungry
Food for the Hungry is one of many Christian charities that work to end hunger by serving the most vulnerable populations around the world. For the past 50 years, Food for the Hungry has provided “purposeful relief and development” in the form of clean water, food, medical aid, and educational opportunities.
Most of Food for the Hungry’s aid comes from within the countries that it serves. A staggering 98% of the staff members fight hunger within their native countries.
What makes Food for the Hungry especially unique among Christian charities is its self-terminating goal: to no longer be needed in the countries that it serves, and to leave those countries with a self-sustainable framework to fight hunger and allow citizens to live out God’s purpose in their own lives.
World Vision
World Vision was born in 1947 out of one man’s desire to help the small abandoned girl in front of him. From only the $5 in his pocket, founder Bob Pierce grew an organization that would become one of the largest Christian charities in the world — and the United Nations World Food Program’s largest partner.
World Vision’s first initiative was to create a program that allows individuals in developed nations to sponsor individual children. This program remains in effect to this day, and is one of World Vision’s largest and most influential initiatives.
Over the years, World Vision’s mission has expanded to include a program that provides short-term food aid during disasters and another that educates local farmers. As of 2019, World Vision has fought hunger by assisting 12 million people through various food-related projects — and it continues to grow its influence.
Samaritan’s Purse
Samaritan’s Purse is one of a handful of Christian charities tailored specifically to disaster relief.
Serving developed and undeveloped areas alike, Samaritan’s Purse follows the example of the Biblical good samaritan: give aid to those who need it. Armed with food, water, shelter, medicine, and supplies, Samaritan’s Purse aims to spread God’s love and word to all of His children in their moments of need.
The crucial moments following a crisis can mean the difference between life and death, particularly where food and water are concerned. By utilizing strategically located warehouses around the world and providing emergency kits filled with staple foods and clean water, Samaritan’s Purse can fight crisis-based hunger as it arises.
Compassion International
In situations of extreme poverty, children are often the most vulnerable to hunger. Compassion International recognizes this and focuses most of its efforts on alleviating hunger among children and their mothers.
Like many other Christian charities, Compassion International works through monthly sponsorships. Through these sponsorships, it specifically meets the needs of children struggling with hunger, lack of clean water, and insufficient medical care.
Compassion International has sponsored 1.9 million children to date, with those numbers continuing to grow each day.
Feed My Starving Children
Feed My Starving Children takes a simple but effective approach toward hunger: get meals to children. It works with food science and nutrition professionals to plan balanced meals designed to nurture starving children. These meals are called “MannaPacks,” and include, for example, vitamin and mineral fortified rice that was designed by scientists specifically for malnourished children.
Feed My Starving Children’s numerous volunteers hand-pack meals for children around the world. In 2019 (before Covid-19 forced limited gatherings), Feed My Starving Children organized 1.3 million volunteers to pack and deliver meals.
Whether at one of its eight permanent packing facilities in the US or through its MobilePack events, Feed My Starving Children mobilizes individual donations of money and time to fight hunger on a global scale. Since 1987, Feed My Starving Children has been a leader among Christian charities — sending food to 105 countries around the world.
Christian Charities: Following the Savior’s Counsel
James 2:15 reads, “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
Christian charities respond to this calling by combining their faith with works: they compassionately and untiringly feed those faced hunger. These Christian charities are doing just that, and with continued support, they can help to make world hunger a thing of the past.
Anchored Purpose Box cares deeply about working with Christian charities to eradicate world hunger — that’s why we donate $1 from every subscription box to Feed My Starving Children. Subscribe today to join us in the fight to end hunger.