Will you 'feel the hunger'?

On Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, you are invited to experience for 24 short hours the hunger that nearly 1 in 7 people in our world feel all day, every day. On Feel the Hunger Day participants pledge to take part in the fight against world hunger by eating just half a cup of rice all day.

Just under 1 billion people in the world are chronically hungry — undernourished or literally starving, according to the UN's World Food Program. The hunger relief organization Convoy of Hope calculates the world's hungry eat the caloric equivalent of just a half a cup of rice per day.

For most of us in the rich developed countries, that's hard to even imagine. So a very loose-knit group of people have decided to go beyond imagining, for just one day. We've set aside the first Wednesday in December — amid a season when most of us eat more than at any other time of year — to feel hunger as well, by eating just a half a cup of rice.

That's all Feel the Hunger Day is. One day, to eat just one-half a cup of rice.

What's that going to accomplish?

The goal is simply to raise awareness of the real, pressing need so many people experience. And in so doing, we hope, to inspire understanding and action on behalf of the world's hungry.

If that's reason enough for you, here are suggestions to proceed:

• Take part. There's nothing to join; to take part you merely resolve to eat just a half a cup of rice on Dec. 7. Read more about our thoughts on the day on our Feel the Hunger Day page. If you decide to take part, we encourage you to add a comment and connect with others here, on the Take Part page>
• Take action. It's our hope that Feel the Hunger Day inspires you to get involved in hunger relief efforts. How about the simple idea to donate what you might spend on food that day? To connect up to worthy hunger relief groups, click to Help Fight Hunger>
• Tell friends and family. It would be great to see others everywhere take part in Feel the Hunger Day — so please pass the word to friends and family. Send out an e-mail to your circle, or post your intent on our Facebook page>
• If you'd like to get an alert when we have news concerning Feel the Hunger day, be sure you've either "liked" our Facebook page or put your name on our Take Part page.

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Photos on this page provided by Chip and Thoretta Short, Sandpoint residents who visited Haiti as part of an international relief effort.