Statement from Church World Service
All Faiths Join Together to Persuade the Food Industry to Donate 1% of Proceeds for Food to Eradicate Hunger
NEW YORK — Church World Service announced today a strategic new partnership with WorldManna.org as part of a growing movement to involve the public sector and faith communities in eradicating world hunger. Church World Service (CWS), the ecumenical humanitarian agency representing 36 Christian denominations, joins the UN Foundation, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Beliefnet.com and Hillel, who are working together with WorldManna.org to persuade the food industry to donate 1% of its proceeds to international non-profit organizations that have systemic approaches that will help to reach the UN’s Millennium goal to cut hunger in half by 2015.
Visit WorldManna.org to learn how to get involved.
Despite the advances in all walks of human life, hunger remains among the most devastating and widespread problems facing the world today. More than 840 million people worldwide and 35 million people in the U.S. go to bed hungry each and every night. With foreign aid and current food assistance programs dwindling, ecumenical organizations under the aegis of WorldManna.org are stepping up to the plate to urge those with the ability to purchase and/or produce food to assist those who cannot.
"We are convinced that the public and private sectors together must take proactive steps to eliminate hunger and malnutrition," said Diane Kolb, Executive Director, World Manna.org. "We are very excited about the involvement of Church World Service in our campaign. Through its CROP WALKS, CWS has worked for almost 60 years nationwide to create awareness of hunger and poverty, and to raise funds to provide for those in need both domestically and globally."
Church World Service is the latest of the organizations to become involved in WorldManna.org's growing effort.
CWS Executive Director and CEO the Rev. John L. McCullough, says, "We are pleased to join this growing interfaith movement. By amassing the collective purchasing power of consumers, faith-based organizations are sending a clear message to food manufacturers to compel them to join us in the worldwide effort to alleviate and prevent world hunger."
Featured in the recent production "Hunger No More: Faces Behind the Facts," shown on ABC in the fall of 2004, Rev. McCullough said, "What is it going to take to for American Christians to become so repulsed that they finally demand of themselves and their government that hunger becomes a major public policy issue, and that they demand that the bane of hunger is ended here and now?"
Established in June 2004, WorldManna.org was founded as a multifaith partnership to raise money and awareness for the issue of hunger each time a consumer purchases his or her groceries. Consumers are encouraged to visit the www.worldmanna.org website to sign the pledge indicating how much they spend on groceries each month. In three weeks, nearly 7,000 consumers of different faiths and from all over the world have endorsed WorldManna.org, equaling over $1,150,000 in monthly purchasing power. The average U.S. household of four spends $8,400 annually on food (Economic Research Service, USDA). If 10,000 households sign the pledge, WorldManna.org would have $84,000,000 in purchasing power.
With this collective purchasing power, WorldManna.org aims to persuade food companies to contribute just a small percentage of their profits of a specified product or products to WorldManna.org, which then, in turn, distributes funds to anti-hunger initiatives.
In exchange for this contribution, the company is permitted to put the WorldManna.org seal on its product(s). The seal is a signal for consumers that their purchase of this product is directly fighting world hunger. By joining with WorldManna.org, individuals can therefore leverage their buying power to help society in a positive way.
"We are trying to prove to the food industry that the more loyal customers buy WorldManna.org-certified products, the more money goes toward feeding the hungry and increasing corporate revenue at the same time," added Kolb.
WorldManna.org is partnering with faith-based organizations which encourage their communities to make positive changes in the world; with domestic and international anti-hunger organizations whose goal is to make sure hungry people are fed; with academic and policy making organizations who advocate for the best practices to eradicate hunger; and with governments to legislate and fund initiatives to carry out innovative policies and programs.
WorldManna.org, a program initiated by SocialAction.com, a service of Jewish Family & Life, will provide sustainable resources necessary to implement the programs and policies of leading hunger organizations. The resources will be distributed following guidelines establishes by the WorldManna.org Advisory Board. Seed funding for WorldManna.org was provided by The Nathan Cummings Foundation and The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
Church World Service, founded in 1946, is the relief, development, and refugee assistance ministry of 36 Christian denominations. Working in partnership with local organizations in more than 80 countries, CWS supports sustainable self-help development, meets emergency needs, aids refugees, and helps address the root causes of poverty and powerlessness.
