There is no quick fix, she says, adding that concerned people can support legislation and funding for drug and crime prevention and for job training that help prevent hunger and respond to the needs of the hungry. Individuals of many ages have been moved to join organizations that help fight world poverty, such as the Peace Corps. Others have donated time to groups in the United States for the same reasons. Churches have responded by providing food, clothing, and shelter. During both World Wars I and II, many churches, including the Christian Science Church, organized relief shipments of massive proportions to people in many countries.
Today there is no world war, but there are many casualties of hunger.
Churches can do more today. Progress and the need for more. The number of undernourished people is actually falling by 8 million people a year, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. But at that rate it would still take 100 years to wipe out hunger. Requests for emergency food rose in the United States last year by 17 percent.