• Bread for the World
• ELCA World Hunger Appeal
• ELCA Advocacy
• Lutheran World Relief
• Lutheran Services in America
When 10 farmers from the Ottawa, Ill., area
harvested last fall, they did more than yield corn and soybeans. They
helped provide food security for the hungry in Southeastern Africa.
The
farmers participated in a Foods Resource Bank community growing project
with members from Trinity Lutheran Church, Ottawa, and Barrington
United Methodist Church near Chicago.
This ecumenical partnership enabled hungry people in Chingale, Malawi, to return to their farms after receiving relief aid.
With
that aid, they're building wells, increasing chicken and goat
production, reforesting their land with fruit-bearing trees and
cassava, and planting maize, beans and sweet potatoes. The program,
which impacts 4,500 households, also provides a literacy program,
training, and necessary materials such as seeds, fertilizer and tools.
The
Ottawa farmers donated their time, labor, machinery, expertise and part
of their crop to the project. Trinity members donated $140 per acre to
pay for farmers' land costs. The Methodist church pledged $205 per acre
to cover the cost of seed, fertilizer, herbicide, insecticide, fuel and
machinery. And Pioneer Hybrid, a local production plant, donated $1,000
as a part of its community development program.
The rest of this article is only available to subscribers.
© 2013 Augsburg Fortress, Publishers
