Food for the Hungry

FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY International (FHI) is a worldwide ministry motivated by Christians that seeks to meet the physical and spiritual hunger of the poor. The goal of FHI's ministry is met by telling people about physical and spiritual hunger, by sending people to share their love of Christ with others, and by providing both emergency relief and sustainable development. Its statement of faith is adopted from the National Association of Evangelicals.

Dr. Larry Ward founded Food for the Hungry in 1971 in order to help some of the world's poorest people. He retired in 1984 and was replaced by Dr. Ted Yamamori, who but for the kindness of strangers in Japan during World War II would have starved to death. Dr. Yamamori retired in 2001. He was replaced by Benjamin K. Homan as the head of FHI in the United States. Food for the Hungry International is incorporated in Geneva, Switzerland. Its staff numbers over 1,700 people and over 30 nationalities. Nearly all staff members work in their home country. These number 37 countries on four continents.

Food for the Hungry defines success with three marks. The first mark of success occurs when FHI's sharing of the hunger needs of the world with churches results in an increase in church giving. The second mark is defined as the increased involvement of leaders in a community in solving community problems because they have been influenced by FHI. The third mark is known as when families increase the sharing that they do with one another to meet needs.

Food for the Hungry is financed by contributions to its autonomous organizations in Canada, Japan, Korea, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. FHI encourages its donors not only to give but also to pray for its ministry and for the poor. The current budget of FHI is over $70 million. Almost all of the income, commodities, and other resources that it receives every year go to serve the [Page 372]people in its mission fields. This efficiency is the result of three factors. First is a sense of responsibility before God as stewards. The second factor is a strong policy and practice of accountability to its donors. And the third factor is the willingness to cooperate with other organizations in order to achieve efficiencies by pooling resources.

For example, containers used by FHI can be filled more quickly and shipped sooner to people in the field on container ships if it cooperates with other organizations. The Americans who have united to form Food for the Hungry in the United States have on many occasions been awarded recognition for their efficiency as a charitable organization. Food for the Hungry also cooperates with governments and corporations. From them it receives both supplies and matching grants.

Food for the Hungry has had emergency relief projects and long-term programs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Since the end of the Soviet Union, it has had ministries in eastern Europe. It has done this with education, child development programs, farming improvement programs, clean-water projects, and various kinds of food programs for improving health and nutrition. FHI has also promoted microenterprise loans for tools such as sewing machines. The loans finance capital purchases that can be used to earn enough to repay the loan and to advance the income and financial resources of the poor.

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