Over the next couple of weeks, as part of our hunger:360 ministry project, Vine Street members and friends will be mapping the pantry.

We believe this will be eye-opening: get a pencil and a piece of paper, and go to your pantry and/or refrigerator, and write down where in the world your food is coming from.

You can do the same thing with just one meal: how far can you track the ingredients of your lunch?

We will have a couple of maps in the sanctuary, one of the U.S. and one of the world, to help us visualize our connection with people all over the globe through our food.

One question we will have to ask ourselves: What do we make of the fact that food follows demand rather than need?

 

Perhaps you think of hunger only as something that happens in far away countries, but there are men, women, and children in our city who know hunger. Not just the kind of hunger anybody knows who has ever skipped a meal; people in our city experience the kind of hunger where you never know where your next meal will come from, and when you will eat it.

There is hunger in Nashville. Food security is a term from the dictionary of bureaucrats. Hunger is a human experience that impacts body, mind, and spirit. There is hunger in Nashville, and there are people who help us see and understand and address it.

Following the 10:45am worship service on Sunday, February 28 (approximately at 12:30pm), Tallu Schuyler will be at Vine Street to talk about food security, food deserts, and hunger. She is the Executive Director of Mobile Loaves and Fishes, a ministry named after a miracle. We will eat a simple, nutritious meal (rice, beans, and cornbread) and we will learn together - statistics, terms, facts, numbers, and the human experiences that so easily get lost behind them. Come and join us for this Sunday afternoon opportunity to eat and learn together!

This lunch & learn is part of our hunger:360 ministry project, and more events and programs are coming up soon. Check the calendar for details, and watch for more information early next week.

On Veteran's Day, we thank the men and women who have served in our nation's armed forces. How can we thank the ones who returned from wars but never fully came home?

The Veterans Administration estimates that 131,000 veterans are homeless on any given night; the National Alliance to End Homelessness puts that number close to 200,000. And approximately twice that many experience homelessness over the course of a year. Conservatively, one out of every three homeless men who is sleeping in a doorway, alley or box in our cities and rural communities has put on a uniform and served this country.

America’s homeless veterans have served in World War II, Korean War, Cold War, Vietnam War, Grenada, Panama, Lebanon, Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), Operation Iraqi Freedom, or the military’s anti-drug cultivation efforts in South America.

• 23% of homeless population are veterans - let's thank them with more affordable housing
• 67% served three or more years - let's thank them by honoring their commitment with more than just a parade
• 33% stationed in war zone - let's thank them by helping them find peace at home
• 85% completed high school/GED, compared to 56% of non-veterans - let's thank them by supporting job training programs
• 76% experience alcohol, drug, or mental health problems - let's thank them by creating health care programs they can access and afford

And let's thank them in person when they come to Vine Street next week to spend the night with us.