On this page you will find language from the 1987 Constituting Convention, outlining the objectives of the World Hunger Program.  Also posted here are additional guidelines that build upon these five objectives.  These documents will give you an idea of the kinds of ministries supported by the World Hunger Program.

PREAMBLE

Because the Holy Spirit calls us to share in God’s continuing care for all people and for the entire creation;

Because God asks us to love our neighbors as Christ loves us;
Because God places us in a global neighborhood, with neighbors near and far who suffer hunger and oppression . . .

Therefore, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America establishes a World Hunger Program.

OBJECTIVES

1. To provide relief and development assistance for those who suffer from hunger and injustices related to hunger in this and other countries. Maintain a disaster fund for response to international and domestic emergencies;

2. To foster the education of the members of this church to understand and confront the reality and underlying causes of hunger;

3. To advocate policies and actions for social and economic justice relating to hunger – with governments, business institutions, and structures of this church and its related agencies;

4. To encourage members of this church to practice responsible stewardship of their lives and their financial resources toward the prevention and alleviation of hunger;

5. To facilitate listening to and working together with those who have special awareness of the realities of food and hunger, including poor and hungry people in local and global communities and those who produce, process, and distribute food.

ALLOCATION

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, in order to sustain its World Hunger Program, establishes a continuing hunger appeal. It directs that funds be expended in the range of 25-30% within the territorial jurisdiction of this church and 70-75% in the other parts of the world.

Adopted at May 1987 ELCA Constituting Convention
Revised at August 1991 ELCA Churchwide Assembly

Activities supported by the ELCA World Hunger Program will relate to one or a combination of the Program’s five objectives.
 

Priority shall be given to:

a. people with the least resources for meeting their basic needs
b. women and children living in poverty

These activities shall relate to one or a combination of the following program areas:

a. RELIEF, which provides immediate access to food, shelter, clothing, medical supplies and care, and the means to deliver and sustain these (transport, storage, supplies, etc.), so that the basic needs of people can be met;

b. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, which leads to increased access to food and sustainable livelihoods through means such as sustainable agriculture, appropriate technology, adequate housing, jobs, primary health care and disease prevention, job training, child care, elder care, nutrition education, literacy training, sanitation, safe water supplies, below-market loans, and just land use and distribution;

c. COMMUNITY ORGANIZING, which brings together men and women with common values, complementary interests, and shared concerns to build and maintain an environment that empowers all persons to obtain justice, affirm their dignity, and gain access to the goods of the earth (where possible these activities are congregation-based and help to overcome the irresponsible use of power in economic, social, and political arenas through a process that demonstrates a deep respect for the rule of law and democratic principles);

d. EDUCATION, which recognizes the abundance of God’s creation and addresses the causes, cures and elimination of hunger and poverty, engages our members, and empowers synods, congregations, affiliated ministries and ecumenical partners to act through a variety of learning opportunities;

e. ADVOCACY, which works to overcome the effects and root causes of hunger and poverty through administrative, legislative and judicial actions in the public sphere, and through corporate actions in the private sphere.

These activities shall:

a. give people with the least resources for meeting basic needs and women and children living in poverty opportunities for leadership in their own projects and participation in planning, decision-making, implementation and evaluation.

b. promote global sustainability and environmental stewardship, including care of God’s gifts of land, water, air and other resources. Environmental stewardship shall be an integral part of hunger-related development, education, and advocacy work.

c. contribute to the transformation of individuals, families, groups and communities so that they may be more interdependent, secure, empowered, healthy and hope-filled.

d. include provision for leadership training, apprenticeship, and local self-reliance.

e. include participation of community groups: ecumenical, inter-agency, or secular.
have, whenever possible, some formal or informal connection with the ELCA, its synods, congregations, affiliated organizations, or ministries.

Adopted 1988; revised 1989, 1991, 1992, 2001.