Press Releases In the News Newsletter Subscribe Media Area	"God, I'm hungry..." March 4th, 2005 How many times in our lives have we muttered this phrase as our stomach churns because we have not eaten for a few hours? Our brains get the message and we head to the closest fast food place or look at our watch to see if it is time to go home for dinner. Here at The Cooperative Feeding Program we hear these words muttered by the hundreds of homeless women and men who line up for a hot meal each day, seven days a week. Or from the working poor, adults asking for help as they simply cannot make ends meet on a minimum wage job, despite working more than 50 hours a week. Or from the children, when asking for a box of food from our Emergency Pantry. Or from the homeless 83 year-old lady with schizophrenia who came in this morning and who needs someone to take care of her in the autumn of her life. The truth is today there are tens of thousands of hungry people in Broward County - and more than half of them are children. June 7th has been designated as National Hunger Awareness Day and we would like to invite you and your parishioners, congregation, youth group, school, etc. to hold an event to help raise awareness and support for the hungry in southern Florida. We can help you with background information about the hunger issues, provide you with a "how to" guide to organizing the event and, when possible, offer a speaker at your event. As part of the National Hunger Awareness Day your church could: organize a food drive or a hunger drive present a sermon and prayer service on the issue of hunger organize a future "Empty Bowl Dinner" (see below) organize a sponsored walk or other event to raise funds to fight hunger The concept of the 'Interfaith Empty Bowls Dinner' started with two art teachers in Oxford, Michigan and has grown around the country over the years. Ceramic soup bowls are made or purchased, decorated and then sold to the dinner guests for $15. The congregation provides soup and bread - often donated by a local company - and the evening can be filled with music or presentations about hunger, etc. The soup bowl is taken home at the end of the event and is a reminder all year long for people when they use it that someone's bowl is always empty and that during the 'Interfaith Empty Bowls Dinner' they did something helpful to reduce hunger. Local participating 'Interfaith Empty Bowls Dinner' congregations over the past couple of years have included Ascension Peace Presbyterian Church, Congregation Etz Chaim, Dignity/Ft. Lauderdale, River of Grass Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Boca Raton, Sunshine Cathedral MCC, Trinity Lutheran Church , and Unitarian Universalist Church of Ft. Lauderdale, amongst many others. I realize that you may well be kept very busy, but please try and join the nation on June 7th in this important day of remembrance of those who are hungry in this, the richest land on earth. Here in our own neighborhoods and on our own streets there are children and adults who are hungry. The Cooperative Feeding Program would like to join forces with you and your friends, church, congregation, school, university or other group to truly make a difference. Please let me know how we can work together to create awareness of and concrete responses to our hungry brothers and sisters. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for taking the time to care, Bruce Harris The Cooperative Feeding Program (954) 792-2328 bruce@FeedingBroward.org P. S. With enough time to prepare, you and the members of your group can create an event or activity that will really make a big difference in the lives of needy people in our community. We hope you will join the many other people who have found great satisfaction in helping the Cooperative Feeding Program!

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