The subject is a popular one: food.
But the discussion will not be so much about its enjoyment as about its absence.
It’s called food poverty — the lack of a nutritionally adequate diet and its impact on health and daily life.
Lunch lines, food pantries, meals-on-wheels and canned good drives are becoming more and more a part of the Islands’ social fabric. Every Catholic parish in Hawaii has some form of food ministry to the poor, according to Carol Ignacio, director for the Office of Social Ministry.
But can these efforts be improved? Can parishes doing good, do better?
Old and new approaches to combating food poverty will be the topic of four September workshops, two on Oahu and two on the Big Island, sponsored by the Office for Social Ministry.
Here is the workshop schedule:
Oahu
- Sept. 17, 10 a.m.-noon, St. Stephen Diocesan Center, lunch to follow
- Sept, 24, dinner 5:30 p.m., workshop 6:30-8:30 p.m., Our Lady of Good Counsel Pastoral Center
Big Island
- Sept. 21, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Annunciation Parish, Waimea, lunch will be served
- Sept. 28, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Malia Puka O Kalani Parish, , lunch will be served
According to the Office for Social Ministry, one in five people in Hawaii faces food poverty.
The workshops, which are open to anyone, will recognize how Hawaii’s Catholic parishes are responding to this problem and discuss ways to support and expand these efforts. The workshops will also address ways to help people provide for themselves.
The workshops will be presented by Bob Agres, executive director of the Hawaii Alliance for Community-Based Economic Development and an expert in sustainability who is also a Catholic.
“We need to continue what we are doing,” Ignacio said, acknowledging the dedication and sacrifice of parish food ministry volunteers.
“But it is also a time to step back,” she said, and look toward new efforts that will provide food that is healthier, sustainable and locally produced.
The Office of Social Ministry recently conducted a limited study of parish pantry operations in Hawaii which concluded that the church is providing an enormous and often under-acknowledged service, which could be improved after further study and re-evaluation.
Ignacio said improvements are possible in food distribution and nutrition. Some parishes are already acquiring freshly grown produce and supporting local farmers, she said.
She said her office hopes to “launch new initiatives” addressing distribution, nutrition and sustainability. It’s a three-year plan, she said.
“We have the pieces in place to help raise the awareness of those now in these ministries,” Ignacio said.
“If we can accomplish this, it will be a major step in the way the church is doing food,” she said.
For more information, call Carol Ignacio at 938-8631, or email cignacio@rcchawaii.org.
