Lenten Collection

One human family, food for all

Caritas Internationalis has launched a worldwide campaign against hunger. Its motto is One human family, food for all. Pope Francis has given the campaign his full support.

Go to Caritas Finland's
Food for all campaign site.

“When the Apostles said to Jesus that the people who had come to listen to his words were hungry, He invited them to go and look for food. Being poor themselves, all they found were five loaves and two fish. But with the grace of God, they managed to feed a multitude of people, even managing to collect what was left over and avoiding that it went to waste.”

“We are in front of a global scandal of around one billion – one billion people who still suffer from hunger today. We cannot look the other way and pretend this does not exist. The food available in the world is enough to feed everyone. The parable of the multiplication of the loaves and fish teaches us exactly this: that if there is the will, what we have never ends. On the contrary, it abounds and does not get wasted.”

“We need, then, to find ways by which all may benefit from the fruits of the earth, not only to avoid the widening gap between those who have more and those who must be content with the crumbs, but above all because it is a question of justice, equality and respect for every human being.”

“This campaign is also an invitation to all of us to become more conscious in our food choices, which often lead to waste and a poor use of the resources available to us. It is also a reminder to stop thinking that our daily actions do not have an impact on the lives of those who suffer from hunger first-hand,” said Pope Francis.

 The theme for Caritas’ Lenten collection is
One human family, food for all.
The proceeds from the collection will be used towards agricultural projects that are currently being developed.
In additional to development aid, 10% of the collection will go towards domestic social aid within the parishes.

Collection Account:
FI73 8000 1270 1545 04
Reference number: 2257 

Picture
Food for all is a global campaign. Photo: Caritas Uruguaya
Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradriaga, President of Caritas Internationalis, reminds us, “The Lord taught us to pray for our daily bread. This prayer, if it is true, should encourage us to share our daily bread, and no longer accept that people around us are deprived of food.”

Concrete actions to ensure that everyone has food

  • Seeking to reduce food waste and using proper food preservation techniques
  • Particularly in developing countries: taking advantage of all available areas of land suited to food production, carrying out reforestation on a large scale and combating soil erosion 
  • Supporting small farmers, especially women
  • Enhancing traditional soil conservation and fertilization methods (compost, manure, etc.)
  • Considering how our way of consuming food effects other people’s ability to receive food

Lent is also a time of physical cleansing. So let us eat in moderation, in sufficient quantity and quality, without becoming overweight. The theme for Caritas’ Lenten collection is One human family, food for all. The proceeds from the collection will be used towards agricultural projects that are currently being developed. In additional to the developmental aid, 10% of the collection will go towards domestic social aid within the parishes.