Baltimore -- <p>In an effort to stop even more people from going hungry and sliding
deeper into poverty due to elevated food prices, Lutheran World Relief is extending its request to help “Fill the Bowl” in response to the urgent needs created by the global food
crisis. Now through the end of the year contributions to LWR’s <a href="http://www.lwr.org/ftb">Fill the Bowl</a> campaign will help grow food and end hunger
around the world.</p>
<p>Climate change, rising energy costs, and rise in demand have caused the costs of basic staples like rice and grain to skyrocket, leaving the poorest of the poor
vulnerable to starvation. Though prices have begun to drop in recent weeks after reaching historic highs, overall food prices are still far higher around the world than they were just a year ago, and
the United Nations predicts that prices could remain elevated for years to come. </p>
<p>Farmers in developing countries are often forced to make critical decisions, such as selling food
stocks reserved for family consumption in order to cover the costs of planting another crop. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization recently warned that these factors may lead many
farmers to cut back planting in 2009, continuing the cycle of hunger. </p>
<p>“Higher food prices have a severe impact on the world’s poorest people. If the
world doesn’t respond to this crisis, to put it bluntly, people will starve,” said LWR president John Nunes.</p>
<p>“We are all feeling the pinch this holiday
season, as we face our own economic troubles at home,” he continued. “But thankfully, we are still able to put food on our tables. Everyone deserves to be able to do
that.”</p>
<p>Lutheran World Relief is responding to the crisis holistically, working side by side with rural communities and local partners to implement long-term solutions that
strike at the root causes of hunger. In addition to help with growing crops, LWR focuses on access to water for irrigation and generating income for families to buy food and other basic
necessities. </p>
<p>Thanks to the generosity of many supporters, LWR has raised more than 70 percent of its $500,000 goal for the <a
href="http://www.lwr.org/ftb">Fill the Bowl</a> campaign. </p>
<p>“We are so thankful to those who have supported this campaign,” Nunes
said. “We hope that by extending Fill the Bowl through the end of the year we can realize our goal and immediately put those gifts to work fighting hunger.” </p><p>To learn more about the Fill the Bowl campaign or to make a donation, visit <a href="http://www.lwr.org/ftb">lwr.org/ftb</a>. There you can download resources,
see pictures and read stories about how LWR helps communities to grow food and prosper. Gifts are also accepted by phone at 800-LWR-LWR-2 or by mail at P.O. Box 17061 Baltimore, MD
21298-9832, USA.</p>
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
A malnourished and sick child is weighed at a hospital in Dihkil November 24, 2008. The Red Crescent Society of Djibouti says water has become the number one humanitarian issue in ...
