$1.1 Million in Grants to be Awarded by PCUSA Anti-Hunger Program

A program of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has announced that it will be awarding $1.1 million in grants to various groups focused on ending hunger in the United States and abroad.

The Presbyterian Hunger Program, which is part of the PCUSA Presbyterian Mission Agency, announced last week that it’s giving $1.1 million in grants to several nonprofits worldwide.

The Rev. Rebecca Barnes, coordinator of the Presbyterian Hunger Program, told The Christian Post that this was part of an annual awarding of grant money by the PHP Advisory Committee to combat “the root causes of hunger.”

“Grant funds result from Presbyterian generosity that we receive and steward through the annual One Great Hour of Sharing special offering in Presbyterian congregations,” Barnes said.

“The One Great Hour of Sharing offering is usually collected during Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. Our Advisory Committee can support working on the root causes of hunger and poverty through that money.”

The approved grant projects, according to Barnes, are the ones found to be compatible with the PMA’s goals of seeking “to eradicate poverty, dismantle structural racism, and build congregational vitality” and attempt “to empower communities and families, care for Creation, and fight the vestiges of colonialism.”

Groups that have been approved for grant money in the United States include the Agricultural Justice Project of Gainesville, Florida; the Black Farmed Fund of New York, New York; Coalition of Immokalee Workers of Immokalee, Florida; the Faith Action Network of Seattle, Washington; the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance of Los Angeles, California; the National Farm Worker Ministry of Raleigh, North Carolina; Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition of Nashville, Tennessee; and the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy of Richmond, Virginia, among others.

Groups that are receiving grants based outside of the United States include the Action For Rural Women’s Empowerment of Uganda, the Asociación Fenix of Nicaragua, the Centro de Estudios Regionales para el Desarrollo de Tarija of Bolivia, the Ecumenical Development Foundation of Zambia, Good Shepherd Collective of the Palestinian Territories, Kaalmo Relief and Development of Somalia, Mouvement Paysan de Papaye of Haiti and Praja Abhilasha of Sri Lanka, among others.

Barnes told CP that these organizations were chosen “based on our prior working relationships and knowing about their work through common networks, coalitions and trusted partners on the ground.”

“We have a set grant budget based on the anticipated revenue for the year from our special offering that is evenly divided between international and national grantee partners,” Barnes continued.

“Additional criteria include ensuring that the work we support is rising from within the community itself, led and owned by those community members and that our grants are going to local communities worldwide most impacted by hunger, poverty, and environmental injustice.”

Barnes also told CP that she hopes that “the local communities receiving the grants receive the funding as a tangible sign of financial support and a relational act of solidarity and appreciation for their incredible efforts.”

“We know that hunger will continue to be an immense challenge both in the U.S. and internationally and that our grants will be small, but we hope they are still an important part of ending hunger, poverty and injustice,” she added.

“We pray through our efforts that we are faithfully answering God’s call to stand with impacted communities and to help create the world God desires.”  

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