Hunger remains a devastating issue throughout the world. According to a World Health Organization report, a little more than 8% of the global population faced hunger in 2024. That is about 673 million people, which is the slightly more than the combined populations of the United States and Indonesia. Additionally, among those who have adequate amounts of food, the number of people who have regular access to healthy food declined by 160 million (a figure which is greater than the entire population of Russia).
Overall, global hunger is higher than it was prior to the pandemic and food insecurity impacts global regions unevenly. For example, while some parts of the world (Southern Asia and Latin America) saw improved access to food in 2024, others (Africa and Western Asia) saw increased food instability.
The report projected that, by the year 2030, 512 million people (more than the entire population of the United States) could face chronic malnourishment. Most of these individuals will be in Africa.
The causes of global hunger are many: war, climate change, inflation, pollution. Complicating issues, UNICEF reported that food cost inflation was greatest in low-income countries, causing the poorest among us to bear the greatest burden of hunger.
Against this backdrop of a global food crisis, the Holy Father is asking us to join him in prayer for our hungry brothers and sisters and for our own conversions, so that we come to recognize food as the gift that it is and so that we may share it joyfully and all can be included. He asks us to pray that we will have the ability to overcome “selfish consumption” and to embrace solidarity, communion, and sharing.
You can pray Pope Leo’s prayer here, or by reciting the following prayer:
Lord of Creation,
You gave us the fertile earth, and with it our daily bread, as a sign of your love and providence.
Today, we recognize with sorrow that billions of brothers and sisters continue to suffer from hunger while so many goods are wasted at our tables.
Awaken in us a new awareness, that we learn to thank for every food, to consume simply, to share with joy, and to care for the fruits of the earth as a gift from you, destined for all and not just a few.
Good Father, make us capable of transforming the logic of selfish consumption into a culture of solidarity.
May our communities promote concrete gestures: awareness campaigns, food banks, and a sober and responsible lifestyle.
You, who sent us your beloved Son Jesus, broken bread for the life of the world, give us a new heart, hungry for justice and thirsty for fraternity.
May no one be excluded from the common table and may your Spirit teach us to see bread, not as an object of consumption, but as a sign of communion and care.
Amen.
Image: “Pan ecológico de masa madre” (CC BY 2.0) by Mumumío
Ariane Sroubek is a writer, school psychologist and mother to two children here on earth. Prior to converting to Catholicism, she completed undergraduate studies in Bible and Theology at Gordon College in Wenham, MA. She then went on to obtain her doctorate in School and Child Clinical Psychology. Ariane’s writing is inspired by her faith, daily life experiences and education. She is currently writing a women's fiction novel and a middle-grade mystery series. Her non-fiction book, Raising Sunshine: A Guide to Parenting Through the Aftermath of Infant Death is available on Amazon. More of her work can be found at https://mysustaininggrace.com.
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