He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. – The Magnificat (Luke1:52-53)

Through the birth and life of Jesus, God revealed a priority for the poor and oppressed, for the hungry and those who had been rendered voiceless. It’s evident that as followers of Christ, our priorities get reordered, especially during a season that encourages excess and indulgence. That’s why we need reminders of what it means to have the mind and heart of Christ. It is certainly a time to celebrate, but what purposes will our celebration practices hold?

Stop Hunger Now has prepared “The Gift of Life” Advent materials to make your countdown to Christmas a season of growing awareness of how fun and easy it can be to feed our brothers and sisters around the world. We also hope the scriptures and activities will educate young and old as to how a little set aside with great intention does indeed add up. Our meals are saving lives, providing for many their only meal of the day. By the time Christmas rolls around, we anticipate you will know the gift of giving the gift of life and wellness.

Ten reasons to address hunger first

1. Eradicating hunger is a global priority. Experts agree it would be nearly impossible to meet the other Sustainable Development Goals without addressing hunger. (Zero Hunger is Goal #2)

2. When hunger is solved, other solutions follow. Addressing hunger is the single point where we can leverage relief for all humanitarian issues.

3. The elimination of hunger boosts productivity. Bringing economic opportunity to hungry regions isn’t ideal until people are fed. A workforce of starving people cannot sustain itself.

4. Nutrition makes combating HIV/AIDS possible. The starving body cannot tolerate medications for HIV/AIDS.

5. The removal of hunger promotes gender equality. A poverty-stricken village does not send all children to school. Two-thirds of children who are kept out of school are girls. Gender equality begins with education.

6. The eradication of hunger boosts education rates. UNICEF and the World Food Program agree that the best way to get children to attend school is to feed them.

7. Education heals weakened communities. Investment in nutrition and growth is an investment in health and productivity. Girls denied education are more vulnerable to poverty, violence, pregnancy and disease.

8. The relief of hunger reduces child mortality and improves maternal health. Maternal under-nutrition can damage a child’s lifelong capacity for physical and intellectual growth and productivity. The largest contributing factors to death during childbirth, stillbirth and miscarriage are highly curable vitamin and nutrient deficiencies.

9. Hunger itself is surmountable. The world has enough sustainable resources, processing potential and distribution know-how to feed everyone ample calories each day.

10. The infrastructure exists to solve hunger. With your support, relief organizations such as Stop Hunger Now have the means to deliver to ongoing school feeding programs that sustain lifelong change.

About Stop Hunger Now

Vision: A world without hunger.

Established in 1998, Stop Hunger Now is a 501c3 international relief organization headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina that coordinates the distribution of food and other life-saving aid around the world.

As part of its mission to end hunger in our lifetime, Stop Hunger Now supplies highly nutritious individual packages of dehydrated rice meals to feed the world’s most impoverished. These meals combine rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables and a mixture of 23 vitamins and minerals into reasonable servings of six. The meals are easy to transport and cost only 29¢ per serving.

Since the inception of its meal packaging program in 2005, volunteers have packaged more than 224 million meals, and Stop Hunger Now has provided direct aid in the form of food, medicines, medical supplies, medical equipment, clothing, and blankets to thousands of disaster victims and other hungry people in 71 countries worldwide.

Meals packaged by our volunteers are distributed by in-country partners primarily to support school feeding programs, which experts consider a viable strategy to eradicate hunger.

Stop Hunger Now operates meal packaging program in Raleigh, Charlotte, and Eastern NC; Lynchburg, Hampton Roads, and Richmond, VA; Jackson, MS; Dallas and Houston, TX; Philadelphia, PA; Atlanta, GA; Santa Ana and the Bay Area, CA; New England; National Capital; Kansas City, KS; Orlando, FL; Indianapolis, IN; Pittsburgh, PA; India; Italy; Malaysia; Peri; Philippines; and South Africa.

Need to address hunger

795M million people in the world do not have enough to eat. (FAO, 2015) Poor nutrition causes nearly half (45%) of deaths in children under five - 3.1 million children each year. (The Lancet, 2013) The reality is that the hunger crisis is surmountable and you can help.

GIFT OF LIFEADVENT CALENDAR 2015

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAYNov 29Mark 13:33, 37bBe aware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come... Keep awake. (vss 33, 37)

Nov 30Daily watch your change for quarters. Have them ready for your Advent donation. Then sit down once a day during Advent for a meal with your family. Everyone add at least 29¢ to the bag. Isaiah 58

1Approximately 25,00 people die each day from hunger or hunger-related causes. That’s one person dying every 3.6 seconds. And 74% of them are children.

1 Samuel 2:8

2For every party you attend this month, add $1 to your bag.

Deuteronomy 15:11

3“We sometimes feel that what we do is just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” –Mother Teresa

Matthew 25:35-40

4Each year, $18 billion is spent on pet food in the United States and Europe. When you feed your pet today, also feed a child by adding 29¢ to your bag.

Mark 6:37

5Make a batch of cookies and add $1.50 to your bag (the cost of six Stop Hunger Now meals).

James 2:14-17

6Isaiah 11:1-10…with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth (vs 4)

7For every gift you wrap this week, add 29¢ to your bag.

Proverbs 11:25

8“Never doubt that a small group of converned citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that has.”–Margaret Mead

James 1:22

9For every card you receive this week, add 29¢ to your bag.

Proverbs 31:8-9

10When school feeding programs are introduced into poverty-stricken areas, the enrollment nearly doubles. Stop Hunger Now meals sustain these programs.

1 John 3:16-17

11Americans spend $23.8 billion on candy each year. Add to your Advent bag as you purchase and eat holiday candy.

Matthew 5:16

12“To a man with an empty stomach, food is God.” –Ghandi Buy six hot meals by adding $1.50 to your bag.

Deuteronomy 15:7-8

13Matthew 11:2-11…the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. (vss 4-5)

14Donate two or three hot meals today by adding 58¢ or 87¢ to your bag. “Feeding the hungry is greater work than raising the dead.” –St. John Chrysostom

Luke 16:19-31

15The wealthiest fifth of the world’s people consume 86 percent of all the goods and services, while the poorest fifth consume one percent. Let us be a people of justice.

Micah 6:8

16 At mealtime, share the name of a person or people who have made an impact on your life. Place a quarter in the bag in honor of them.

Luke 11:2

17For every card you receive this week, add 29¢ to your bag.

Jeremiah 22:13-16

18Americans spend $65.9 billion a year on soft drinks. Put a quarter in your bag each time you drink a soda this week.

Leviticus 19:9-11

19“When my parents send me to school without anything to eat,... they know I will eat at school. I pray every day for the people who sent the [SHN] rice.” –2nd grade student in Haiti

Acts 2:42-47

20Matthew 1:18-25…and they shall name him “Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” (vs 23)

21For every gift you open this week, add 29¢ to your bag.

1 Timothy 6:17-19

22Every time you receive a Christmas card, place 29¢ to your bag. “We cannot do all great things, but we can do small things with great love.” –Mother Theresa

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

23Americans spend $566 billion eating out in restaurants. As you leave to go to your next dinner out, add $1.50 to your bag.

Galatians 2:10

24“I thank God and the people who sent the rice to us.... [The rice] gives us energy and ... makes us listen to our teacher.” –3rd grade student in Haiti

Psalms 140:12-13

25Americans spend $9.6 billion on movies. Each time you watch a movie at home or in a theater, add quarters to your meal bag. Ask those who watch with you to contribute.

Proverbs 14:20-21

26We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” –Mornam MacEwanConsider the privilege it is to give when you add to your donation bag.

Luke 19:1-10

GIFT OF LIFE DAILY CALENDAR ADVENT 2015