There are so many ways your home impacts your life – and your food security. Consider the following questions about your home:

Is your home structurally sound? What is it made of? How large is it? How many people live in that space? Where is it located? Do you have adequate garbage and sewage removal? How much power does it take for your home to operate? What impact does that energy use have on you personally (is it available to you? it is reliable? can you afford it?)? What impact does your home’s energy use have on the climate and the environment (where does your electricity come from? where does your natural gas come from? how does it get to you?). Where is your home in relation to important businesses and services like grocery stores, schools, health clinics, and potential employers? What does you home’s proximity to these businesses mean in relation to how you live and your hopes for the future? Is your community growing or shrinking? What impact does its changing size have? Is the municipality where you live planning appropriately for the change? Is there a municipality? How many of these things do you have to think about regularly?

As the world population increases and cities grow larger, urban planning becomes more and more important to ensuring people have adequate shelter and services, and that we don’t trash the environment in the process. To draw attention to these issues, the United Nations holds World Habitat Day on the first Monday of October each year. From their website:

The idea is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities and the basic right of all to adequate shelter. It is also intended to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat.

This year’s theme is “Planning Our Urban Future.” There are events scheduled around the world in observance of World Habitat Day; to see a list of them, visit www.unhabitat.org. Even if there’s nothing going on near you, you can help by talking about the issues of housing and urban planning with you friends and family. Many of us are privileged enough that we don’t have to think about these things as much as we should, so drawing attention is important. If you’d like to learn more, you can start with the video below from World Habitat Day’s Executive Director. There are also additional resources at the UN World Habitat Day web site. Everyone deserves a decent place to live; won’t you lend your voice in making it happen?

-Nancy Michaelis

The following was written by Rev. Brad Meyer about the Carol Joy Holling Camp in Ashland, Nebraska.

Food for the Hungry Garden

We were blessed this summer to receive money from the ELCA Hunger Education and Advocacy Grant. With this grant we accomplished great things!

The grant allowed us to reinvigorate our current garden with raise beds and provide for a summer staff dedicated to the garden that coordinated the preparation, planting, harvest and distribution of the produce.

Prior to the summer season, a local Lutheran congregation was involved in planting some of the plants to give them a good start before the campers arrived. Then throughout the summer campers tended the garden and were able to harvest the labors of the work done by many.

All the produce went to the local food bank as well as a new ministry entitled “Table Grace Ministries.” This ministry provides meals for single parents that work, and also teaches them cooking skills. The recipients received tomatoes, radishes, zucchini, beans, peas, and squash. They were all delighted to receive the fresh produce.

An exciting part of the program was to see campers who had never planted a seed before experience digging in the dirt, pulling weeds and feeling good about helping produce something that would benefit someone else. The work in the garden followed along with the summer theme of “Love to Serve” in marvelous ways. The campers understood that all their work was to “serve” and to help someone else, someone in need. There couldn’t have been a greater hands-on ministry than our Food for the Hungry Garden.

Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to participate in this ministry.

Peace,
Pastor Brad E. Meyer
NLOM Director/Programs

A lot of what I hear about climate change involves catastrophic statements about what will happen. Sea levels will rise, plunging cities and coastlines under water. Desertification will increase, causing human migration and wars over water. Severity and frequency of storms will increase, causing countless forms of destruction. And of course, the poorest, who have the fewest resources for adaptation, will suffer the most.

It’s all very scary, but it is also often tempered by future verb tenses and debate over the predictions’ plausibility. Even though the weather here in Chicago has been unusual this summer, it may just be a natural fluctuation. Besides, even if the climate is changing, Manhattan isn’t under water yet. It’s a slow process and no one can really predict how bad it will be. We have time.

Or perhaps not. Manhattan may not be under water, but Italy and Switzerland are moving. It seems the border between the two countries, established in 1861, was set along the ridge of a glacier. Now the glacier is melting, and so the line is moving. Climate change – happening right now – is changing the defined territories of two countries. 

Luckily, this particular case is not catastrophic, which I’m guessing is why I didn’t run across it as a front page headline. As reported by Discovery News, “Since the affected demarcation line runs through uninhabited peaks 13,000 feet above sea level, the measure would not force changes in citizenship.” In addition, it’s not happening on a highly valuable bit of land, and both countries have functional governments. So the politicians on both sides have very reasonably agreed to redraw the border, and have set in place a plan to deal with future changes. It would appear to be no big deal.

The understated reporting of this story (or did I just miss it?) surprises me. The issues and implications here are so potentially explosive. If it’s happening in Europe, where else? Where else in the world might climate change affect one country’s border with another? What happens to citizens living along the line? What happens when that line runs over an oil field, or a valuable rain forest, or a sacred burial ground? What happens when the countries involved do not have stable economies and rational governance? And even hate each other?

For now, the threat of climate-related issues do not appear to be obvious or imminent enough to compete with other problems. But as the climate change debates continue, I wonder what constitutes a winning argument. This particular border example – with so few consequences – isn’t enough.  How much drama will it take to really get our attention?

-Nancy Michaelis

I was amused – and not really in good way – last weekend by the large, chain grocery store near my house. I was there picking up a couple of things when I saw a “Locally Grown” sign over a pile of tomatoes. It being tomato season here in Illinois, I walked over to see if it said where, exactly, these tomatoes were from. I wondered if it was a nearby farm, as a friend of mine recently discovered was the case at her grocery store (of this same chain) in Washington state. Imagine my surprise when the little stickers on the tomatoes said “Mexico”! A closer look at the “Locally Grown” sign included small print that said “Products of Canada, US, and Mexico.” Quite a generous definition of local!

I find cause for hope and concern in this. First, the fact that a national grocery store chain even has signs proclaiming their food was locally grown shows an encouraging level of public concern about where our food comes from. To me, it seems to indicate some level of critical mass has been reached that the grocery store sees spending time and money on this form of advertising as a worthwhile investment. That’s good news!

The perhaps less good news is that phrases like “locally grown” don’t mean much if our locale is expanded to include whatever supply chain the store already has in place.  And if people take the sign at it’s (biggest) word and buy it, assuming that “locally grown” means somewhere that most people would recognize as near-ish. Then it’s really just a trick to keep everything the same.

However, being in a hall-full mood today, I think questionable signs may not be all bad. They may serve to further the discussion. I, for one, like to buy local products when I can, but I don’t believe we all should all the time. One reason: those of us in densely populated northern cities would struggle to eat by January. Heck, we wouldn’t get through the summer if we relied solely on local farms as they exist today. So maybe that sign will lead to a conversation about not only what local means, but also what role Mexico should play in our food supply chain. Maybe it can be educational. It certainly gave pause to the produce manager, who asked me why I was taking a picture of the produce sign with my cell phone (which sadly didn’t turn out well enough to post here). He asked out of pure curiosity, but was left rather embarrassed and speechless when I asked him if he considered Mexico local. If nothing else, the sign gave him something to think about. It’s a start.

-Nancy Michaelis

The following was submitted by Brooke Ells at Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp. The camp, with  the support of grant money from ELCA World Hunger, is involving kids in the fight against hunger.

In the past few weeks we’ve harvested lettuce, spinach, kale, onions, and a variety of herbs at Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp in northwest Montana. These fresh vegetables have made welcome appearances on our daily salad bar and outdoor BBQs. We anticipate tomatoes and corn in the coming weeks, which will be donated to local food pantries as a way of acting upon our summer theme, “Love to Serve.” Campers continue to enjoy the garden through educational activities, watering, weeding, harvesting, and eating.  And they continue to be curious as they observe two methods of composting waste from the Camp’s kitchen.

We have been adding more biblical and theological connections to our 6^th and 7^th grade garden scavenger hunt. Following activities at each station we use Bible passages to explore why environmental and social impacts of food production matter for our faith. In order to talk about stewardship and sustainability we read from Leviticus 25: “The land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land.

Just as God provided for the Israelites, so God continues to provide for us through the miracle and transformation of seeds to plants to flowers to nourishing fruits. After a relay race that represents food miles and food transport, we discuss our buying power as consumers, and our ability to make a difference through growing our own foods or buying local foods. As Luke 12 tells us, “‘Beware and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does life consist of his possessions. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’”

Finally, in the garden we talk about how our faith is like the parts of a plant. Roots keep us grounded, stems function as our support systems, flowers are our gifts or talents, and fruits are given away in service or nourishment for others. Just as plants need sunlight, so we need a life-giving, transcendent God. Just as plants need water, so we need a cleansing, energizing, ever-present Holy Spirit. And just as seeds are transformed in soil, so we are transformed in Christ’s powerful message of forgiveness.

Campers continue to send letters to their senators and representatives weekly, allowing 8^th and 9^th grade campers to take action on behalf of those who experience hunger and poverty. Campers inspire us as they write with passion and conviction for their peers or themselves, who are in need of discounted or free school lunches. We hope to see effective changes made to the Child Nutrition Act this fall, including more accessible discounted meals, healthier school meals, and additions of breakfast and summer discounted meals.  At the end of each week, campers are each given a list of places they can serve in their home towns.

Many thanks to the ELCA and to all who continue to support the ministry at Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp. Your thoughts and encouragement on our behalf keep us energized and renewed for service to children.

Brooke Ells

The following is written by guest blogger Mikka McCracken. Mikka served as an ELCA World Hunger Intern in 2008 and is currently working at the ELCA in the Justice for Women department.

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“Trafficking is a change in your situation, not necessarily your location.” “Human trafficking is one of the top three, international organized crimes.” “I am excited to work for the church, because I get to think about the root causes of human trafficking, like patriarchy, sexism, and racism.” “Rip out your phone book pages!” “Little things matter. Know what it is, and say something.”…and on, and on, again, and again…

I never got tired of it. I said my “spiel” to every wayward person who came by the Justice Town Human Trafficking Post Office. I talked to young people, youth group leaders, pastors, bishops, and sheriff deputy chaperones. I learned, I am inspired, I am uplifted, and I consider my time at the 2009 ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans a great success. Here are some things that I learned.

I learned that we cannot underestimate young people. They care. They want to make a difference. I am still in the category of young person, and I underestimated my peers. I will not do that again.

I learned that little things do matter. I stood at the human trafficking booth all day and told young people the little things matter. That night for dinner, some other staff members and I went to eat at a restaurant. To get there, we walked up Bourbon Street and then took a left instead of walking up the parallel street and to the right. I felt like a fool. Here I am, telling young people it’s the little things we do, and I can’t even take a different street to get to where I’m going to make sure that my foot traffic isn’t giving Bourbon a sense of legitimacy. It’s the little things. I truly believe that.

I learned that success is not only measured in numbers. I would estimate that I talked, in depth, with about 100 people during my time in Justice Town at the Gathering. When you count that there were 37,000 people there, I interacted with only about .0027% of the people. However, young people stood around the human trafficking station for 15, 20, 30 minutes. They asked questions and made connections to popular movies like Taken, the Human Trafficking television show, Slumdog Millionaire, and August Rush. When they found out what trafficking was, they mentioned things they’d seen at the airport when they landed, on Bourbon Street, and in their home towns. I watched all day as ‘light bulbs’ went on.

One group took the black and white, two-sided business cards with the National Human Trafficking Hotline number on the back and tried to tape them to massage parlor windows on Bourbon Street on the way back to their hotel. They came back the next day to tell me, and, apparently, saw two people following behind them the whole way taking the cards down. But, they did it, albeit, a little more dangerous than I would like to encourage, but they did it.

I learned that trafficking might be a darker, drearier, scarier reality in our world, but Lutherans care! Thanks be to God that we are blessed to serve in this way, and that we are called to constantly learn from one another.

Peace, Mikka

The following is from guest writer Brandon Reed. He writes about how ELCA World Hunger grant money is being used to involve kids at Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp (CO) in issues of world hunger.

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We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end starvation;
For you have already given us the resources
With which to feed the entire world
If we would only use them wisely.

Jack Riemer’s inspiring words from his poem “We Cannot Merely Pray to You” serve as a reminder that we as Christians are called to action in our unjust world.  At Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp in Colorado, we are trying to foster a spirit of service in campers with our new Stewardship program.  This program emphasizes global hunger issues as well as other aspects of being good stewards of all that God has created.  Our approach centers on raising awareness, because without appropriate information and understanding of complex issues such as global hunger, action can be useless and even detrimental. 

Rainbow Trail hosts ten one-week camps throughout the summer, including two junior camps (4^th through 6^th grade), two junior high camps, two confirmation camps, two senior high camps, and two family camps.  In the past, confirmation campers experienced a traditional hunger meal where they were divided into groups to represent the state of the world hunger crisis.  Feeling especially adventurous this summer, we decided to switch it up and try something completely different. 

Our new Tastes of the World Lunch operates with similar goals in mind as the hunger meal, but takes a more uplifting approach.  In small groups with their counselors, campers “visit” five countries where they sample a native dish.  At each country’s table, staff members serve campers and talk for a few minutes about hunger issues in that country as they relate to the economic, social, political, and religious situations there.  While eating plantains sprinkled with cinnamon sugar in Cameroon, campers learn about Islamic culture and talk about African stereotypes.  In India, campers eat chole with flatbread and talk about the poverty and hunger that runs rampant through the country.  When campers visit Colombia, they try hominy cheese patties and discuss the impact that deforestation and illegal crops have on hunger and poverty.  After a scoop of peach mango salsa, campers hear about the uneven wealth distribution in Mexico and Rainbow Trail’s Bridging Borders program, which takes trips to Juarez to build houses for families.  Finally, snacking on cheese pizza in the U.S., campers learn that our prominent economic status in the world does not immunize us from hunger within our own borders. 

Although the campers oftentimes hesitate to try new foods, they are usually pleasantly surprised.  While the impact of such a lunch may not be as dramatic as a hunger meal, it has the benefit of engaging campers in a new way.  The menu for the lunch will change every summer so that returning campers experience an entirely new meal when they return the next year. 

In addition to the Tastes of the World Lunch, we are actively working to reduce food waste.  We measure food waste from dinner every day and present the weights to the campers.  We offer some statistics about global hunger issues, and encourage campers to think about what actually constitutes food waste and why it is important to act responsibly with food.  Emphasizing that some food waste is inevitable (i.e. chicken bones), we set goals for how much food waste we should have at the end of every dinner.  And it seems to be sinking in; the other day I forgot to post our food waste number from the previous night, and a handful of fourth graders came up and asked me where we stood. 

Overall, we are taking steps to ensure that campers leave with a few more tools than they came with to address hunger issues at home and around the world.  The ending of Riemer’s poem embodies the light we hope to shine at Rainbow Trail this summer:

 Therefore we pray to You instead, O God,
For strength, determination, and willpower,
To do instead of just to pray,
To become instead of merely to wish.

Brandon Reed
Stewardship Coordinator

The following is from guest writers Jenny Terrell and Ben Koehler. They write about how ELCA World Hunger grant money is being used to involve kids at Pine Lake Camp (WI) in issues of world hunger.

Crossways Camping Ministries, located at three sites in  northeastern Wisconsin, is dedicated to helping campers between third grade and high-school grow in their relationship with God and to incorporate Christian principles into their daily lives.  This summer our theme is “Called to Serve,” within which we are specifically focusing on educating campers about hunger issues around the world and God’s call to us as Christians to serve those in need.  We are incorporating hunger education into multiple parts of our summer program, hoping to increase camper awareness of hunger issues and then give them concrete methods to fight hunger in their neighborhoods and around the world.

Pine Lake Camp, near Waupaca, WI, uses meal time to educate campers about food waste and conservation.  At the end of each meal, one camper from each table must divide their cabins’ leftover food into “Food Waste” and “Compost”.  We explain to campers the importance and advantages of composting and describe the compost process.  Campers are encouraged to go with their cabins to look at the compost pile to better understand how long it takes food to decompose.  The food waste from each meal is weighed and the total amount of waste is reported at the next meal.  After the food waste is reported, counselors facilitate camper discussion of how our food waste affects hunger issues around the world, and brainstorm with campers positive ways to be less wasteful. 

Campers are encouraged to help out in the Pine Lake vegetable garden at some point during the week.  By watering, weeding, planting, or picking vegetables, campers gain more insight into the labor intensive processes which bring food to their tables, and learn about the positive aspects of eating locally.  We plan on using our vegetables to make homemade salsa for Taco Tuesdays and to add to our salad bar throughout the week.

Cabins of middle school and high-school campers spend one night camping outside in the Pine Lake Camp Woods, cooking their own tinfoil dinners over a fire.  The cookout experience is an opportunity to educate campers about the scarcity of food in other parts of the world.  Counselors first cook a pot of rice and then measure out one cup to show campers how little food some children have to eat during an entire day.  Counselors promote deeper understanding of food scarcity by asking campers questions such as “If you only ate one meal a day, what time of day would you eat it?” or “What types of activities would be difficult to do if you only had this much rice for the entire day?”

After campout, cabins sign up for a one-hour “Mission Project” session.  During Mission Project we expose campers to the realities of hunger by learning hunger related facts through playing Hunger Jeopardy and watching a video clip of ELCA Disaster Response bringing food to people in Zimbabwe.  We then break campers into small groups to discuss with counselors what they have learned and then to brainstorm ways they can fight hunger at home and abroad.  Campers have come up with amazing ideas including hunger benefit dinners, having a hunger education session in their youth group, and promoting fair trade products and micro-credit!  We write down all of the campers ideas and at the end of the week provide them with a sheet of their planned “actions,” encouraging them to follow through on their ideas once they return home.

On the last night of camp, as we sum up the Called to Serve theme, we encourage campers to donate some of their remaining camp store money to ELCA World Hunger Program and Disaster Response.  We explain to campers the power that their one or two dollars has in feeding hungry people around the world.  We end by sharing hopeful facts with campers, letting them know that alleviating hunger is possible, sharing hopeful hunger statistics, and once again sharing ideas of how they can continue to fight hunger when they leave camp.  We pray together for strength and courage to respond to God’s call of fighting hunger.

Here at Crossways we are hopeful that campers will leave with a deeper understanding of hunger issues, and even more importantly, a better idea of what they can do to help!

Jenny Terrell and Ben Koehler

The following is from guest writer Emily Hamilton. She writes about how ELCA World Hunger grant money is being used to involve kids at the Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Center in issues of world hunger.

Hello!

My name is Emily Hamilton and I am one of the summer Program Coordinators at Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Center near Jamestown, NY. Supported by ELCA World Hunger, part of my job this summer is hunger awareness education, and the central piece of this work for us is a community garden created with the help of Rural Ministry. On July 6th, Ed and Josh came down with donated plants, weed blocking cloth, and a tiller to help us plant. Our Recruits in Advanced Training for Service (or RATS) campers spent the morning tearing up sod and planting melons, tomatos, peppers and squash. Take a look!

Since then we’ve also been doing a hunger education session with one or two cabin groups every day. Currently our focus is on Haiti, a place which has been on my mind since taking a course on Caribbean religion this past spring. We’re using the Hunger Resources from the ELCA website for that lesson. Additionally, we have a world map in the dining hall onto which we add a hunger information on a new country every day. By the end of the week there is a blurb on Haiti, Nigeria, India, Bangladesh and the United States for kids to read about, as well as a marker of where we live and where our international staff lives.

Our theme this summer is ‘Love To Serve’ which seems perfect to me. If at all possible I would like to find ways for the campers to get involved in helping to alleviate hunger when they go home, sent out to serve in their own communities. At the end of the week we give parents and campers the opportunity to donate to the ELCA World Hunger fund through their leftover money for the camp store or anything else they’d be willing to give. Each camper also gets an opportunity to help take care of the garden. However, I’d like to see them have the chance to plan another course of action for when they leave- letter writing, food drives, fundraisers, extended education, etc.

Right now I’m trying to come up with more ways to integrate this project into daily camp activities- I don’t want to overwhelm kids with Bible Study, worship, devotions, and then hunger education to boot! One option would be to try and meet with each cabin twice a week instead of once; another that I’m thinking about is doing a mini lesson during a meal, possibly just as fast facts on each table. I’d love to hear ideas about how to teach kids even more!

God bless,
Emily

The following is from guest writers Anna Rohde and Bethany Atkins. They write about how ELCA World Hunger grant money is being used to involve kids at the Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp in issues of world hunger.

In a letter urging her Senator to advocate for hungry children, one camper writes, “Please don’t take this as just a letter from a kid. I am very concerned about child hunger in this nation.” One addition to the programming this summer at Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp is an offering of letters by 8th and 9th grade campers to their senators and representatives. These letters are written following the weekly Hunger Drama, which combines a dramatic portrayal of hunger and homelessness with local and international statistics on these issues. In an effort to move from reactions of guilt to reaction of empowerment, we seek to give campers the tools to act through advocacy and volunteerism. The letters address issues of hunger involved in the Child Nutrition Act, and provide an immediate outlet for action. At the end of the week, campers receive handouts with volunteer opportunities in their towns. Both of these aim to use experiences at camp to fuel energy for service in their communities.

We’ve focused our garden programming on the 6th and 7th-graders that come to camp. We call it the Great Pathfinder Garden Quest and the kids follow clues from station to station, where they participate in activities that explore the environmental, social, & spiritual impacts of food production. For those who do not garden at home, the activity is exposure to tangible action & creativity. For those who do, it seeks to connect global agricultural issues with local actions. We hope this encourages thoughtful eating, living, & serving.

The garden itself is nearly 2500 square feet, comprised of about 14 raised beds of radishes, carrots, corn, tomatoes, onions, strawberries, rhubarb, lettuce, beans, and an assortment of herbs and other experimental crops. We’re learning a lot about what crops can escape the local critters! We have also started two small-scale composting systems as examples of constructive food waste disposal. One is a vermicompost with red wiggler worms in a five-tray compost bin, and the other is a homemade compost barrel that campers can participate in rotating to speed decomposition.

We have also made an effort to integrate hunger, poverty, and social justice issues throughout the camp day. During their free time, campers have the opportunity to donate some of their spending money to ELCA World Hunger. During Bible Study, campers may visit the Art Barn. Here, we seek to create sustainable projects that reuse materials from around camp and that function while at camp or have use upon returning home. For example, campers plant bean seeds in decorated cups on Mondays, which they may bring home and transplant or give away. Tuesdays, campers create paper bag luminaries reused from their pack-out lunches, to be used in prayer services later in the week. Campers paint reusable canvas tote bags on Wednesdays to reduce the waste of grocery bags at home. Finally, campers decorate quilt squares on Thursdays to be assembled into quilts by volunteers at a local church and donated through the ELCA to those in need.

We’re finding this work to be valuable and rewarding, and are thrilled to belong to a church which provides for these opportunities. Campers and staff alike are enriched by fresh perspectives and relevance to the important food issues in our world.

–Anna Rohde and Bethany Atkins, Hunger Grant Coordinators
Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp
Lakeside, Montana