Everyone eats.
Our relationship with food is as simple — and as complex — as that. Every living thing is dependent on nutrition, which makes food an incredibly valuable resource. And how we get it, who gets enough of it, and the choices we make around it become critical social justice issues.
For people of faith, food has incredible symbolic meanings. It is the stuff of miracles, of punishment, a symbol of welcome and the generosity of the Creator. For Christians, reenacting the Last Supper is one of our most sacred rituals of our faith.
The Council’s work around food touches all of program areas – from Care of Creation and personal health, to immigration, farmworkers and peace. Because in a world where everyone has enough, many of the problems associated with excess and waste, deprivation and destabilization end up being diminished.
The Council’s food curriculum, Eating Well for Ourselves, Our Neighbors and Our Planet, is one resource for people of faith interested in exploring the topic. Additional information about food from a faithful perspective can be found on our Partners In Health and Wholeness website, and in the Sacred Foodscapes Program of North Carolina Interfaith Power and Light. Facts about the farmworkers who grow much of our food even as many of them go hungry can be found on the Farmworker Ministry Committee site. And the annual Come to the Table Conference, cosponsored by the Council and held at multiple sites statewide, brings together members of the faith community with farmers, gardeners, farm workers, educators, health professionals and community organizations to find ways to relieve hunger and support local agriculture.
More on Food
From the Blog
- Because of Jesus (5/15/2018)
- Partners in Health and Wholeness Mini-Grant Cycle Now Open (5/3/2018)
- Politics of Eating (4/24/2018)
- United for Puerto Rico (11/9/2017)
- Join Us for the PHW Faith and Health Summit (10/5/2017)
- GA’s Budget Proposals — Harmful not Helpful (6/12/2017)
- Now what? Staying Engaged and Grow the Interfaith Climate Movement (6/1/2017)
- 2018 Budget Proposal is the Antithesis of our Call (5/23/2017)
- For Children, It’s Good News and Bad News from the GA (5/23/2017)
- Budget’s Big Picture: A Crumbling Core (5/19/2017)
- Apply for PHW Collaborative by May 31 to be Eligible for June Mini-Grant (5/11/2017)
- Raleigh Report — May 10, 2017 (5/11/2017)
- No More of This (4/14/2017)
- Standing on Our Heads (4/3/2017)
- If a Budget is a Moral Document, Then What Does this One Preach? (3/17/2017)
- Women and Wages (3/8/2017)
- PHW Launches Collaborative; Certify for 2017 (3/3/2017)
- Ethical Debates on Industrial Agriculture (2/21/2017)
- Raleigh Report — February 20, 2017 (2/20/2017)
- Getting Back to Our Normal: Some Suggestions for the Long Haul (1/27/2017)
Resources
- Agricultural Policy: Legislative Seminar Workshop by Scott Marlow (5/15/2013)
- Sí, se puede: Celebrating Holy Week & National Farmworker Awareness Week (3/1/2013)
- Preparing the Way: A Social Justice Study for Lent (free download) (2/1/2013)
- Farmworkers’ Vital Contribution to North Carolina’s Economy (12/17/2012)
- Facts About North Carolina Farmworkers (10/11/2012)
- NC Farmworker Health Facts (10/3/2012)
- Farmworkers and Immigration (9/28/2012)
- United States Farmworker Factsheet (9/19/2012)
- Harvest of Dignity Film and Study Guide Now Available (9/17/2012)
- New Curriculum: Eating Well (4/17/2012)
- New Resources from Partners in Health and Wholeness (2/20/2012)
- Facts About North Carolina Farmworkers (8/1/2010)
- Hands of Harvest, Hearts of Justice (8/1/2010)
- Farmworkers’ Vital Contribution to North Carolina’s Economy (8/1/2010)
- North Carolina Farmworker Health Facts (8/1/2010)
- Farmworkers and Immigration (8/1/2010)
- United States Farmworker Factsheet (8/1/2010)
- Recipes for the Heart & Soul (7/11/2010)
- Ownership of Agricultural Seeds (3/20/2010)
- Come to the Table (2/12/2009)
Raleigh Report Legislative Updates
- GA’s Budget Proposals — Harmful not Helpful (6/12/2017)
- For Children, It’s Good News and Bad News from the GA (5/23/2017)
- Budget’s Big Picture: A Crumbling Core (5/19/2017)
- Raleigh Report — May 10, 2017 (5/11/2017)
- Raleigh Report — February 20, 2017 (2/20/2017)
- Bills Wink at Polluters, Abusers (5/28/2015)
- Crossroads for Food Aid (11/13/2013)
- Shutdown Scenario: The Hunger Brink (10/11/2013)
In the Media
- For I Was Hungry and You Gave Me Nothing (9/9/2013)
- How NC Tax-reform Plans Could Fray Safety Nets (7/13/2013)
- Laurinburg Presbyterian Lets People Grow Food on its Property (7/9/2013)
- Grant to Strengthen Community Garden Program (7/4/2013)
- Piney Grove Baptist Ministries Helped with Healthy Eating Equipment Grant (7/3/2013)
- Conference Explores Dimensions Of Food Justice (3/3/2013)
- Faith and Weight Loss: NC Churches Encourage Members to be Healthy (12/31/2012)
- A Personal Story of Faith and Health (4/12/2012)
- Annual Christian Educational Institute to be held in Dobbins Heights (3/19/2012)
- Our Addiction to Cheap Labor (11/24/2011)
- Bladen Churches Unite: Being Healthy, Being Faithful 2012 (11/14/2011)
- Budget with conscience (10/9/2011)
- Bishop Curry Interviews Dr. Kathy Shea about NC IPL (7/1/2011)
Sermons
- Bread: Embodying Justice (3/10/2014)
- Living on an Ark (10/3/2010)
- Being a Creature Means You Eat (10/11/2009)