Lent is a time of year that we devote to prayer, fasting and alms. It reminds us of the justice of God and calls us to live out God’s love and justice to the neighbors around us. As many of you know the major justice issue I focus on is hunger. I view the world though “bread colored lenses.” I think Lent offers a great opportunity to take some time to learn and act about issues of justice that we are passionate about. Since I am passionate about hunger I thought I would offer you a few resources that I have personally found enriching. There is no single book that takes on hunger from all the important angles. However there are a few which I think open some important avenues. Here is a brief bibliography of some books I think are good starting places.
Joel Berg, All You Can Eat: How Hungry Is America?, 1 edition (Seven Stories Press, 2011);
This book offers a great look at hunger in our immediate context. Hunger is often a lived reality to people who are living right next door. Hungry people shop with us, work with us, and greet us every day. Hunger is not a problem that has been conveniently solved, instead it is something that people in our own communities know first hand. This book helps illuminate that dimension of hunger.
Saru Jayaraman and Eric Schlosser, Behind the Kitchen Door (ILR Press, 2013);
This book opens up a often forgotten avenue. In a world where fair trade, locally grown, organic foods have become an industry of their own it is important to remember that the infrastructure that exists to provide these options can sometimes carry with it a level of injustice. This book shines a light on some of this.
David Beckmann, Exodus from Hunger (Westminster John Knox Press, 2011);
Global hunger has been significantly diminished over the past 20 years. There are great strides being made to address global hunger, but these efforts need global leadership. Beckmann’s book is a call to arms for us to connect with world leaders in efforts to end hunger. There is more than enough food. We just need to address the root causes of hunger so that the food we have can make it into the lives of the people who need it.
Fred Bahnson, Soil and Sacrament: A Spiritual Memoir of Food and Faith (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2013);
There are literally hundreds of organizations working hard to make food a central part of their lives and faith. Bahnson records his own memoir exploring the sacred act of growing food. You can read my interview with him about the book here.
Wendell Berry, The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry, ed. Norman Wirzba, 1 edition (Washington, D.C: Counterpoint, 2003).
Wendell Berry has been a significant influence on my life, ministry, and sanity. This book explores themes of what it means to grow food in the world today. Berry will shake your assumptions and stimulate thoughts. This book inspired me, and challenged me and still continues to shape how I see the world.
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