Day 1: In The Beginning...

(Side note: That's an appropriate title, especially since that was my Lenten reading for today.)

So I'm starting NOW!  According to Oxfam, 50% of the world eats only rice or another staple food for dinner, so I've decided that for 30 days (though it may be part of my Lenten journey now too) that I'll eat only rice for one meal a day and donate the money that I would have spent on groceries to these children that we met in Ethiopia.  The school that they go to is run solely on charity (since a free education isn't available in Ethiopia or many other countries) and the only meals that they receive during the day are at the school.

Here are some hunger facts from Bread For The World and Feeding America:

- In 2008, nearly 9 million children died before they reached their fifth birthday. One third of these deaths are due directly or indirectly to hunger and malnutrition. Malnutrition is not having enough nourishing food, with adequate amounts of protein, vitamins, minerals and calories to support physical and mental growth and development. Children who survive early childhood malnutrition suffer irreversible harm—including poor physical growth, compromised immune function, and impaired cognitive ability.


- Despite years of progress against hunger, in 2010, it is estimated that 925 million people suffer from hunger. This is due to a sudden spike in global food prices and the onset of a world-wide economic crisis. United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation


- 20% or more of the child population in 16 states and D.C. are living in food insecure households.  The states of Arkansas (24.4 percent) and Texas (24.3 percent) have the highest rates of children in households without consistent access to food. (Cook, John, Child Food Insecurity in the United States: 2006-2008.