Fasting and Sharing with the Hungry
To print, download this activity as a Word document.

Ahead of time: 1.  Do some research on hunger in the world and in the Chicago area. Use whatever resources that you like. Here are some online leads:

Who is Vulnerable? Fact Sheet
www.feedingminds.org/level3/sec_level.htm

Where People Are Hungry
www.feedingminds.org/level3/sec_level.htm

Why Are Some People Hungry?
www.feedingminds.org/level3/sec_level.htm

Poverty and hunger statistics from the Greater Chicago Food Depository

What does hunger in Cook County look like?

In any given week, 91,366 different people rely on emergency feeding programs served by the Food Depository:

36.7 percent (33,531) are children under 18 years old

6.9 percent (6,304) of the members of households served by the Greater Chicago Food Depository are children ages 0 to 5 years

7.7 percent (7,035) are age 65 and older

78.8 percent had incomes below the official federal poverty level during the previous month.

21.8 percent (12,608) of all adult clients are homeless

27.9 percent of households have one or more member in poor health

31.7 percent of households include at least one employed adult

51.6 percent are female

48.4 percent are male

67.7 percent are African-American

22.2 percent are white

8.0 percent are Hispanic

3.7 percent are American Indian or Alaskan Native

2.5 percent claimed "Other"

***Keep in mind that this is information from only one local food bank. There are numerous other organizations also distributing food!

2. Print out the most helpful charts and articles and other information and bring it with you to the class/meeting.

3. Have Bibles available for each participant.

Step by Step:
Discussion:

1. Fasting-skipping meals or at least eating less food, not because you are forced to but because you choose to-is a practice common to many religions and faiths. Today, Jews, Christians, and Muslims practice various forms of fasting. Why do religious people pay attention to what kind of food and how much of it that they eat?
2. You've heard the saying: "You are what you eat." What does it means?
3. Many young people suffer today from an eating disorder-an illness-called anorexia. If you know what this is, explain it to the others. If not, go to number 5.
4. Anorexia is a disease which causes a person to think that he or she is overweight, ugly, and unacceptable, even though he or she might in fact be underweight and even undernourished. Without medical help and counseling, a person with anorexia may even starve himself or herself to death. What factors in our society might lead someone to think that he or she should stop eating? (Think about attitudes and advertising.)
5. Have you ever felt really, really hungry? How did this happen? What did it feel like?
6. People whose bodies are still growing and developing should not fast by skipping whole meals. How might we adapt fasting so that we do not do harm to our own bodies, but we still participate in this ancient religious custom? What kinds of food might we skip? What can we do without?
7. Share the research that you did ahead of time on hunger. As a group, try to explain:
8. Why are they hungry?
9. How big a problem is this?

Read Matthew 25: 31- 46. Discuss: What is Jesus telling us to do here?

What is the connection between voluntary fasting and involuntary hunger? Between hunger in the world and the lack of peace? Between fasting and being a peacebuilder?

Go back to the foods and drinks that you listed in number 7. How much money might you raise/save if you skipped these things? For example, if you usually drink one soda pop a day, and decided to skip it, how much money would you save in one week ?

As a group, decide if you want to try to raise money in this way. Collect it all through Lent and do some research into an organization that fights hunger that you want to donate the money to during the last week of Lent. [Suggestions: the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Operation Rice Bowl (Catholic Relief Services), the Chicago Anti-Hunger Federation, etc.]

What other ways can you help you hungry: as an individual? as a group?

Whenever you feel hungry during this week of sacrifice, remember those who feel hungry all the time and yet still have nothing to eat.

Compose a prayer to pray at the dinner table that (a) gives thanks to God for this food; (b) asks God to help and to help us help those who are hungry. Share your prayers with the group. Post on them online in the Forum .