Peace and bread

One of the requirements for graduation from my small Midwestern college was regular chapel attendance. By the 1950s, students were no longer expected to worship together but only to attend a weekly hour-long lecture from a distinguished visitor on some high-minded subject.

We were a tough audience to persuade. One memorable week, an agricultural scientist admonished us to become involved in alleviating world hunger. In passing, he predicted that the most promising foodstuff might be primitive plant life from the sea.

Our student newspaper responded with a less-than-compassionate editorial. "Let the Rest of the World Eat Algae!" it advised.

Back then, American parents urged their children to eat all the food on their plates with the moral admonishment, "Think of the poor, starving children in Asia." My own excuse at turning up my nose at vegetables was that I wasn't acquainted with any starving children in Asia.

Well, today, television has made us aware that tens of thousands of children die daily of starvation, and that most of the world's peoples are malnourished. And many children in our own country go to bed hungry every night.

As if the situation were not already dire, there are new shortages of food, so severe that Josette Sheerin of the United Nations World Food program deems it "a silent tsunami." Sharply rising food prices in our own supermarkets may be no more than an irritant, but food-related violence has erupted in 14 other nations as the cost of rice has nearly tripled.

Today, nearly one-third of children in the developing world suffer from malnutrition. The U.N. secretary-general estimates that $15 billion to $20 billion is needed to help resolve the food crisis.

In May, President Bush released $200 million in emergency U.S. aid and asked Congress for an additional $770 million. Of course, dozens of American organizations already provide food to the world's hungry populations purchased with donations from individuals. But even reliable sources such as World Vision cannot keep up with soaring prices.

Jesus of Nazareth warned that "man does not live by bread alone," but he also fed the hungry multitudes. Feeding the hungry continues to be the obligation of every person of faith. A relief worker with whom my wife works concludes his letters with the words "Peace and Bread." That's the right idea.

(David Yount's book, "Growing in Faith: A Guide for the Reluctant Christian," is available in a new edition from Seabury. He answers readers at P.O. Box 2758, Woodbridge, VA 22195 and dyount(at)erols.com.)