Food Week of Action and World Food Day
Sunday, October 14-21; October 16 (World Food Day)
Agroecological farming can feed the world!
The Food Week of Action is a special time to celebrate God’s Creation and the people throughout the food chain that provide life-sustaining food. Join with people in your church and around the world in praying, worshiping, and advocating for a just and sustainable food system during this week and on World Food Day, October 16.
Almost one in every seven people in the world experiences hunger every day – not because there is not enough food to feed the world’s population but because the structures and systems for producing, buying, selling and sharing food are profoundly broken. The good news is that working together we can change these policies, practices and structures. The Action Guide and resources below are designed to help you celebrate the Churches’ Week of Action on Food and World Food Day.
Read about actions and events coming up and tell us about yours! If you have organized or know of an event related to World Food Day happening in October, let us know by filling out this short form. You can also download a PDF of the Food Week of Action events and activities.
Food Week of Action guide
2012 Action Resource Guide: The Promise of Agroecology
2-page info and action inserts for regions around the world, including the United States insert, are available here
2011 Action Resource Guide: Food and Land
(also PDFs in French, Spanish)
2010 Action Resource Guide: Food and Gender
(also PDFs in PDFs in French, Spanish)
Faith in action!
ACT for JUSTICE in the FOOD CHAIN . . .
1. With Farmworkers! Stand in solidarity with farm workers and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and send a supermarket postcard or manager’s letter
2. With Family Farmers! Push for transparency in the Trans-Pacific Partnership to make sure family farmers and people who eat are not hurt by this secretly negotiated international trade agreement.
3. With Food Workers! Become an ally of employees behind the kitchen door. Request a raise to the tipped minimum wage of $2.13 an hour for restaurant workers.
4. With Hungry People and God's Creation! We're burning our crops as fuel rather than using land to grow food. Tell the Obama Administration to waive the mandate for corn ethanol.
Other 
Ways to Learn, Share and Act for a Hunger-Free World
People in the U.S. and worldwide are taking back their food systems – fighting for their land and waterways, reclaiming vacant lots, teaching others how to grow food, and developing local distribution systems – while simultaneously creating jobs, providing fresh food, preserving the environment, building rural-urban connections, advocating for just policies, and revitalizing their communities.
Reflect and eat together on Sunday, Oct. 14 or 21, or on World Food Day
With your church, family and others in your community, read the US Food Sovereignty Alliance’s Call to Action. What is your experience of producing food or consuming food? Where around you do you see people unable to access or afford enough healthy food? Which points in the Call to Action resonate most with you?
- Show Anna Lappé’s new video at your church or home and eat a healthy meal together (coming in September!)
- Learn, act and be inspired through the World Food Day Coalition, in which the Presbyterian Hunger Program and Presbyterians around the country participate.
- Host a World Food Day Dinner
- Celebrate Bread for the World Sunday on Oct. 21
- Share a Meal during the week or anytime throughout the year! Download your free placemats early.
Network
Build relationships with groups directly affected by unjust food policies and with groups working towards a new model of food consumption and production. Share the Call to Action with them. Ask what actions you could take together in order to bring about the changes listed.
- Invite a stranger or someone you don’t know well to dinner. Learn about their life.
- Find out what grassroots groups in your area are doing to address food access and justice issues. Listen for what kind of support they might desire.
- Join with others marking World Food Day via the World Food Day USA website
- Join with others focusing on domestic food issues on October 24 to extend Food Week further
Advocate for Change
Write to, call or grab a few people to go visit your local, state or national political representatives and ask what concrete actions they are taking to address the problems of food injustice and to build sustainable models of food production and consumption. Use the Call to Action, and start by focusing on one or two issues you feel strongly about.
- Visit the PCUSA Office of Witness and ask your representatives about two or three of the issues you are passionate about from the Call to Action or the Principles for a Faithful Farm Bill, which you can reference even after the Farm Bill debate is over
- Go to endinghunger.org and sign the petition, volunteer and play!
Save the date for Ecumenical Advocacy Days (April 5-8, 2013)
Worship and theological resources
World Food Day Prayer
(from the Presbyterian Hunger Program)
Food Week Liturgy
(from 2011; PDFs also in French, Spanish)
Food Week Worship Service from 2010
(Word Doc so you can modify; also in French, Spanish)
In the Beginning: A theological reflection on agro-ecological farming
By Rev. Werner Fuchs, National Council for Food Security of Brazil (CONSEA)
Sample Sermons for Inspiration
The page includes the winning sermon by Rev. Dr. Randall Bush, East Liberty Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, PA, who was the guest preacher at the Food Week of Action worship service at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on 17 October 2011. Read his sermon, “Fields of Gold” (Ruth 1:22-2:7).
Food for Life: A Theological Paper
Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, 2011
The Daily Bread
Short reflection on food sovereignty by Rev. Werner Fuchs, National Council for Food Security of Brazil (CONSEA)
Turning the Tables: People First
One-page reflection on food sovereignty by Roberto Malvezzi, Pastoral Land Commission (Brazil).
Educational materials
The Hands That Feed Us: Challenges and Opportunities for Workers Across the Food Chain: The Presbyterian Hunger Program helped fund this new report by the Food Chain Workers Alliance. Based on nearly 700 surveys and interviews with workers and employers in food production, processing, distribution, retail and service, this well-illustrated report looks at wages and working conditions in this sector, which employs 20 million people in the U.S. -- 1/6th of the nation's workforce. The Food Week actions emerge from the reality of exploitation and hardships that our sisters and brothers in the food system suffer. Click here for a summary of the findings and to download the report for free. Also see the media coverage of this landmark report by NY Times, NPR, Grist.org, Mother Jones, Time, Huffington Post, Fox TV and more.
Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance - Nourishing the World Sustainably: Scaling Up Agro-ecology: This draft discussion document presents the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance’s views and recommendations for Rio +20 on the need for further recognition of the full range of benefits of agro-ecological methods of food production and the support that is needed to use them on a wider scale.
What is the Right to Food?: The Right to Food says that all people are entitled to adequate food that is sufficient, safe, nutritious and culturally acceptable. Learn about the history and current efforts to push for this critical human right on the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance website.
International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology for Development: IAASTD Fact Sheet: The IAASTD, a major international scientific report, concludes that in order to feed 9 billion people in 2050, we urgently need to adopt the most effective and sustainable farming systems, and recommends a shift towards agro-ecology as a means of sustainably boosting food production and improving the situation of the poorest people and communities.
Food Films from Community Economies: Several contributors list and describe their favorite food-related films. You can also view some short videos on food and sustainability at Media That Matters.
World Foodless Day YouTube Video (2008): World Food Day in 2008 (October 16) was a day without much or any food for about one billion people suffering in the midst of the global food crisis. So grassroots communities, peoples' organizations and civil society groups observed the occasion as World Foodless Day, and carried out a "Day of Global Action" dedicated to people's struggle for food sovereignty and their resolve to change the root problems of hunger.
For home:
- Waste Tracker: This handy download from EAA can be put on your fridge or near your trash. Pick a family member to be the Waste Buster, and record how much (if any) food was wasted each day. At the end of the week, your family could discuss ways to reduce waste and other options for disposal, such as composting.
- Food Quiz: How much do you know about your food? Take this fun 10 question quiz from the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance and try it out on others.
