Feed the Hungry

Share Food and Hope With the Poor

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Your support will bring nutritious meals and the love of Christ to children around the world!

Feed the Hungry and Share Christ’s Love

An estimated 828 million people around the world will go to bed hungry tonight. That represents a significant increase in hunger levels since 2019, and current economic and political challenges are likely to make it even harder for vulnerable families to access and afford the food they need in the year ahead.

In response to this global hunger crisis, Cross Catholic Outreach partners with ministries feeding the poor in developing countries like Malawi, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala. Church leaders are eager to distribute food and offer nutritional training to address the needs of hungry families — but they need our help to succeed with their plans.

Your support can help Church-based outreaches deliver life-sustaining food to the communities where it is needed most. Last year, we were able to deliver 25.9 million meals to hungry families around the world, and we are confident even more can be done in the year ahead!

For just 15 cents you can provide a hearty meal to someone who is hungry!

Make a Greater Impact

Give hope to precious lives all year long with a small monthly gift.

Nourish precious lives all year long with a small monthly gift.

That's the equivalent of 1,200, 2,000 or 2,796 meals a year!

A young girl in a jacket and blue dress holds a water bottle while looking at the camera. — Faith Msukwa, 7, was severely undernourished, but with the gift of meals, she is gradually growing stronger. Her performance in school is improving too.

A woman peels cassava while sitting on the ground. People sit under a tree and watch her in the background. — A woman in Malawi peels cassava, one of the primary food sources in the region. By learning to cook it for optimal nutrition and diversify their diets by utilizing other ingredients, families can improve their overall health.

Malawian women prepare a pot of food surrounded by other women who are taking notes and learning about the process. — The Diocese of Karonga hosts nutritional trainings for families who are part of their food distributions. Education is a critical part of remedying malnutrition.

A woman smiles while surrounded by tall stalks of maize in a green field. — The Diocese of Karonga looks to provide long-term sustainability to families participating in their programs through agricultural training. In this photo, a participant proudly shows off her hard work—a field of maize.

A large group of people pose for the camera in front of a classroom used for nutritional training. — When paired with food distributions, nutritional trainings like this one empower families to take charge of their health and build a brighter future.

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Malawi’s Need

A Country in Need of Hope

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with nearly 70% of the population living on about $1.90 a day. The U.N. recently reported that a staggering 5.4 million Malawian men, women and children currently face food insecurity, and only 8% of children between the ages of 6 months and 2 years old are receiving the minimum nutrition requirements for their age. Sadly, 37% of Malawi’s children suffer from stunted growth – one of the tragic and permanent signs of chronic malnutrition.

When children don’t have their basic nutritional needs met, brain development is impaired, impacting their health and educational outcomes for years to come. Fortunately, hunger can be overcome if enough of us — inspired by the Corporal Work of Mercy and its call to feed the hungry — are willing to work together to provide nutritional support to families in need.

With your support, Cross Catholic Outreach can partner with leaders in the Diocese of Karonga to dramatically reduce hunger among the poor and marginalized in their community. Meeting basic nutritional needs is the first step in transforming families and communities. Please — help us feed the hungry in Malawi and around the world!

*Sources: World Bank, UNICEF, U.N.

Featured Ministry Partner

The Diocese of Karonga

Since 2019, Cross Catholic Outreach has partnered with the Diocese of Karonga in Malawi, led by Bishop Martin Anwel Mtumbuka, to transform communities materially and spiritually for the glory of Jesus Christ. This is the newest diocese in Malawi and contains 12 parishes. It covers 12,000 square kilometers in the districts of Chitipa, Karonga and Northern Rumphi — much of which is remote and difficult to reach.

In keeping with its motto, “We shall go to them,” the diocese strives to reach previously unreached areas and also to revitalize the faith of local Catholics. Its mission is to “provide holistic evangelization through teaching of the Word of God and facilitating development work.”

The diocese drills clean water wells and is working on long-term agricultural solutions. But hunger is the most immediate need. With your help, we can provide food for 250 families in rural Malawi through food distributions, cooking demonstrations, door-to-door supervision of food preparation, nutrition counseling and follow-up visits from trained volunteers.

Fill Empty Stomachs

Follow Jesus’ Command to Feed the Hungry

To combat the growing need worldwide, Cross Catholic Outreach has a simple but effective plan: distribute Vitafood. Vitafood is the generic name for all of the specially formulated meal packs Cross Catholic Outreach ships overseas to meet the needs of malnourished families. Though we receive Vitafood from different sources, each source develops the Vitafood with a rice, potato or lentil base, a protein (usually soy or beans), and key vitamins to energize, strengthen and improve the health of malnourished children and families.

Your gift will feed the hungry around the world by sharing Vitafood!

Feeding Mothers and Their Children

Faggie Kilembe was eight months pregnant when she found out she was severely underweight. Both Faggie and her husband make a small income through sporadic work on nearby rice farms, but this leaves them with limited resources for food and other necessities.

Faggie’s health and the life of her unborn baby were at risk — but thanks to our compassionate supporters, the Church has been able to intervene! In answer to her prayers, Faggie received much-needed nutrition and was able to deliver a beautiful, healthy baby.

Your support can make more stories like Faggie’s possible. Give now and provide for the immediate nutritional needs of families around the world!

Become a Cross Mission Partner Today

Cross Mission Partners receive this prayer journal, handmade by those we serve in Haiti!

Use it for reflections and notes to grow in your spiritual life. You’ll also receive a prayer request form to mail back so that we can pray for your needs. In effect, this creates a spiritual bridge to connect you to our sisters and brothers in Christ in the developing world!

Cross Mission Partners also receive a semiannual Mission Update with news, insights and information about the good work and accomplishments made possible by your support.

* Every dollar helps us bless the least of our brothers and sisters throughout Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America, and South America.

Thank You for Your Special Commitment to Serving the Poor!

Proceeds from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures incurred through June 30, 2023, the close of our ministry’s fiscal year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the project, the excess funds, if any, will be used to meet the most urgent needs of the ministry.

What Is Your Legacy Mission?

When you include Cross Catholic Outreach as a beneficiary in your will, trust, retirement account or life insurance policy, you will make a difference for poor communities by meeting both material and spiritual needs for generations to come. Create Your Legacy!