Today in the Mission Yearbook - Donating goods to farmworkers in Eastern Virginia

Families go through donated clothing outside the Head Start center
in Cheriton, Va. (Contributed photo)

As a Hunger Action Advocate for the Presbytery of Eastern Virginia, Jessica Fitzgerald loves to collect goods for farm laborers and their families, particularly migrants and seasonal workers who contribute to the state’s agriculture industry.

From staples such as masa flour, oil and dry beans, to gift cards and clothing, the donated products are distributed with the help of volunteers and support from about 14 churches within the presbytery.

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Let us join in prayer for:

• Alicia Demartra-Pressley, Associate, Mission Equipping, Theology, Formation & Evangelism, Presbyterian Mission Agency 
• Nina Demers, Administrative Assistant, Self-Development of People, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray:

Gracious God, we thank you that your Spirit is working through those congregations to meet human needs in Christ’s name, helping us all to grow in your knowledge and love. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Hunger Action Advocate helps Californians fight food insecurity

Corinne Quinn calls food a ‘basic human right’

August 7, 2023

Corrine Quinn is Presbytery of the Redwoods’ 

Hunger Action Advocate. (Contributed photo)

Being a resource for churches in the Presbytery of the Redwoods that are tackling food insecurity in their communities or have an interest in doing so is one of Corinne Quinn’s passions.

Quinn, a deacon and a ruling elder at First Presbyerian Church of Vallejo, California, is a Hunger Action Advocate (HAA) who coordinates the Presbytery of the Redwoods’ Hunger Task Force. Through projects such as the annual Pedal for Protein bicycle ride, the Task Force helps to fund hunger initiatives that benefit people who are struggling to put food on the table. The task force also does advocacy work, such as letter-writing campaigns.

“There are certain members of society who can’t afford the basic human right of food and … what’s so near and dear to my heart is giving them free, good-quality, nutritious food,” Quinn said of her work as an HAA. “We do have areas of our presbytery that are food deserts,” where people have trouble accessing nutritious food because there are no grocery stores nearby, “so we’re pleased that our food pantries and other food programs that we sponsor allow access to healthy food.”

Quinn, who has a master’s degree in public health, is one of nearly a dozen HAAs around the country serving presbyteries as educators, motivators and facilitators of hunger action, according to the Presbyterian Hunger Program.

“I love the work that I’m doing,” she said. “Being Hunger Action Advocate is a natural extension of what I do professionally and coordinating God’s people is a pleasure and a natural extension of what I do personally, as well.”

Hunger Action Advocates, whose positions are partly funded by PHP and partly funded by their presbyteries, help congregations and other groups get involved in direct hunger relief, hunger-related development assistance, public policy advocacy, education and interpretation about hunger and environmental justice. They complement the work of PHP and are locally situated to do more hands-on organizing and education.

“I get questions from churches throughout the presbytery pretty regularly,” saying, “We have the desire to try to alleviate hunger in our community. … What kind of project should we do?” Quinn said. “I always say, ‘No project is a bad project. Whatever you feel called to do, whatever need that you see in your community that needs to be met, that’s the hunger project that you should ask to be funded.’”

The task force has two main programs, Cents-Ability and Pedal for Protein, which both generate money for grants to fund community projects.

Photo by Mike Erskine via Unsplash

With Cents-Ability, participating churches collect a monthly offering that is then pooled together to provide funds to address hunger concerns. Churches and their nonprofit community-based partners can draw on the fund for projects, such as community gardens, food pantries and meal programs.

“Last year, we gave away $23,625 through our Cents-Ability Fund and this year already, we’ve given away about $11,000 to churches and other nonprofit organizations from this same fund,” Quinn said. “God has truly blessed us, and churches are very, very generous, stepping up to the plate to provide for those who need food the most, and for that, we are grateful.”

Pedal for Protein is an annual bicycle ride — celebrating its 10th anniversary this year — that raises money to help food banks purchase protein-rich foods, which can be expensive.

“We have raised over $400,000 in the past nine years,” she said. “We have some very faithful people throughout our presbytery that love to ride bicycles and they train for this all year long. Last year’s ride was a seven-day ride and a little over 300 miles round trip were pedaled by these protein riders,” who have multiple sponsors, such as church members and businesses.

Money from the ride is distributed to eight local food banks as well as an international hunger project each year. “Last year, we raised over $50,000,” Quinn noted.

The Presbyterian Hunger Program is one of the Compassion, Peace & Justice ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Its work is made possible by your gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing. Go here and scroll down to the bottom of the page to see a list of Hunger Action Advocates across the country.

Darla Carter, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Today’s Focus: Hunger Action Advocate

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Jose Irizarry, Vice President, Education, Church Engagement, Board of Pensions
Valerie Izumi, Manager, General Assembly Nominations, Office of the General Assembly

Let us pray

Mighty God, we bless you for the rich soil in which your church is nourishing the seed of your gospel. Continue to transform our lives, congregations and communities so that all will know us by the fruit we bear. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Hunger Action Advocate helps congregations see ‘the big picture’

Laura VanDale moves Ohio churches to use their collective voices

July 20, 2020

Laura VanDale is a Hunger Action Advocate in the Presbytery of the Western Reserve. (Photo by Kimberly Boone)

For nearly a dozen years, Laura VanDale has crisscrossed northeastern Ohio, encouraging congregations in the Presbytery of the Western Reserve to tackle the root causes of hunger.

As one of 17 Hunger Action Advocates for the Presbyterian Hunger Program, she encourages churches to take socially responsible actions, such as serving fair-trade coffee and writing letters against policies and programs that contribute to poverty and hunger.

The role of Hunger Action Advocates is to help congregations see beyond direct hunger assistance to the things that contribute to hunger, whether that be low wages, exploitation, social and political marginalization or structures that reinforce historic injustices. However, that can be a hard sell.

“When you talk about a church doing hunger ministry, the first thing people think about is a community meal or food pantry,” said VanDale, who’s based in Cleveland. “The challenge for our Hunger Action Network here in the presbytery is to figure out a variety of ways to have conversations with people in our congregations about the bigger picture of hunger.”

Hunger Action Advocates serve multi-pronged roles as educators, motivators and facilitators, working with churches on both short-term and long-term actions against hunger. Their work is funded by their presbyteries and grants from the Presbyterian Hunger Program, or PHP, which is supported by One Great Hour of Sharing.

Their goal is to help congregations to understand that “people are coming to these community meals and food pantries because they’re hungry because of other underlying issues,” she said.

That kind of work is invaluable to PHP.

“One of the things I’ve always noted and appreciated about Laura is her understanding and commitment to the importance of advocacy related to hunger and justice work,” said Jessica Maudlin, PHP’s Associate for Sustainable Living and Earth Care Concerns. “She gets that without networking and advocacy, deep and lasting change isn’t possible.”

The COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitates staying apart instead of coming together for meetings and services, has complicated matters, but VanDale and her colleagues in Ohio are continuing to push forward, using technology.

With the help of a savvy office administrator, “we’re doing a lot, technologically,” she said. “We’re maintaining a lot of connection with our pastors. We had a Zoom coffee hour, where folks could just drop in and sort of ask questions or visit. Every single day, we feel like we are reinventing what we’re doing.”

VanDale and other members of the Hunger Action Network are working with a representative of the advocacy group Bread for the World on how to do a letter-writing campaign while church members are sheltering in place at home.

Bread for the World describes itself as a collective Christian voice urging the nation’s decision-makers to end hunger in this country and abroad.

Nicole Schmidt is the Ohio state organizer for Bread for the World. Its annual campaign asks churches to take up an Offering of Letters to Congress on legislation that impacts people who are hungry and poor.

VanDale “helps coordinate Bread for the World’s Offering of Letters campaign,” Schmidt said. “Last year she played a big role in organizing hundreds of letters to Congress on the Global Food Security Act Reauthorization. Laura is vital in communicating advocacy opportunities to the local church, as a part of their broader mission to care for the poor.”

Also, VanDale “has been actively involved in promoting ways for church members to take action around the COVID-19 crisis as it is a really scary time for our neighbors struggling with hunger.”

VanDale explained her passion for the work in correspondence to the Presbyterian Hunger Program.

“We can (and must!) have a voice in how policies are created and people are treated — whether this is around hunger specifically or the broader issues which result in hunger,” she wrote. “It is not easy and we cannot do it alone, but we must keep at it.”

Give to One Great Hour of Sharing to support the Presbyterian Hunger Program in its work to alleviate hunger and eliminate its root causes.

To listen to how other aspects of PHP and OGHS programs are responding to COVID- 19 and how to support the Offering in this time, please view this webinar.

Darla Carter, Communications Associate, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for: 

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff

Sy Hughes, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Rhashell Hunter, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray:

Lord Christ, fill your followers with bold faith and the power of the Holy Spirit. Continue to increase the number of believers, one house church at a time. May we be inspired through the gift of prayer. In Jesus’ holy name. Amen.