wfn.org | Harvest of Hope -- Phase 2

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3036 notes).

Note 3035 by UMNS on June 26, 1996 at 16:19 Eastern (4495 characters).

SEARCH:   Harvest of Hope -- Phase 2; Society of St. Andrew,
               hunger, homeless

  UMNS stories may be accessed on the Internet World Wide Web at:
                   http://www.umc.org/umns.html
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

Contact:  Joretta Purdue                         321(10-71P){3035}
          Washington, D.C.  (202) 546-8722           June 26, 1996

Harvest of Hope holds
advanced hunger program

     WASHINGTON (UMNS) -- Twenty young people, many of them United
Methodists, came here June 22-29 with Harvest of Hope -- Phase 2
to learn more about hunger by doing as well as studying.
     All 20, ranging in age from high school juniors to recent
college graduates, have participated in previous Harvest of Hope
projects of the Society of St. Andrew, a Christian, ecumenical,
non-profit hunger relief ministry.
     On June 23, they helped host a party in a District of
Columbia park for about 80 homeless children and 20-30 parents in
conjunction with Homeless Outreach, Inc., a shelter organization.
After the food and games, each child was given a package
containing a t-shirt, socks, toothbrush, toothpaste and soap.
     Another evening they provided supper to homeless children
before taking them to see a stage production of "Beauty and the
Beast" at the Kennedy Center.
     They heard Ginena Dulley Wills, who heads the United
Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) hunger program, tell them
about the program and its goals for the elimination of hunger.
UMCOR, a part of the United Methodist Church's Board of Global
Ministries, has its hunger office in Washington.
     Other scheduled highlights include meeting with some of the
congressional representatives from Florida, Georgia, North
Carolina and Virginia -- the four states represented in the group
-- to discuss hunger issues.
     The young people also heard from executives of Bread for the
World, another Christian anti-hunger group, and the national
office of Women, Infants and Children (WIC), a government
nutrition program for pregnant women and their young children.
     Phase 2 participation required previous experience of a week-
long Harvest of Hope retreat. At that time participants gleaned
produce from farmers' fields; learned about causes of hunger;
delivered, cooked and served food to homeless people; explored
solutions to the hunger problem; and made personal commitments to
do something about hunger.
     Last year 504 Harvest of Hope participants gleaned 194,086
lbs. of produce including potatoes, apples, corn, tomatoes, peas,
cucumbers, squash, and other fruits and vegetables.
     In 1995 Mary Claunch, 16, a member of St. Andrew United
Methodist Church, Panama City, Fla., attended a Harvest of Hope
retreat in Louisiana, where she and the others rose at dawn to
spend the morning hours gleaning peas. Afternoons were spent in
classes about hunger and poverty and getting first-hand
experiences with agencies that serve the underprivileged. Worship
at the beginning and end framed the day.
     "It's something that stays with you when you go back," she
said. "You're more aware of what's going on." She spoke at church
about the things she had learned.
     Another part of their week is how they eat. "We try to use
good nutrition," said Taylor. Participants take a nutrition
pledge: no sodas, no coffee or tea, no sweets and no junk food.
     As advance preparation for the retreat, the young people were
encouraged to live for a week on 76-cent meals, roughly the
equivalent of a food stamp budget.
     Lindsey Crawford, at "almost 16" the youngest participant in
this Phase 2 retreat, did a television interview about her past
Harvest of Hope experience and what she was expecting from the
Washington trip. A member of Bon Air United Methodist Church, she
lives in Richmond, Va.
     Heather Koontz, a member of Duncan Memorial United Methodist
Church in Ashland, Va., said she has been attending Harvest of
Hope since she was about 10 because her mother was a spokesperson
for the Society of St. Andrew. A May graduate from William and
Mary College, Koontz indicated she hopes to make a career within
the church.
     The Society of St. Andrew, founded in 1979 by two United
Methodist clergymen, is best known for the Potato Project and the
Gleaning Network.
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