"Have you anything here to eat?" 
Sustainable Food in a Changing Climate

DONATE

Our Christian education resources are made possible by grassroots contributions. Thanks for chipping in!

Download the Resource

Each year, Creation Justice Ministries develops resources to help Christian communities reflect on different themes. This 2015 resource helps us see how climate and food concerns impact us every day.
In this guide, communities will learn how does food production and consumption impact the climate, and explore the question: How does climate change affect growing and accessing food?

---

Find Denominational versions of the resource here.

Presbyterian Church (USA)
United Methodist Church
American Baptist Churches
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
United Church of Christ

Sermon Preparation

Theological notes for the Revised Common Lectionary Readings for Sunday, April 19, 2015, the Third Sunday of Easter (Year B): Gospel Luke 24:36b-43

Christian Education Hour Activities and Ideas

• Youth Education Ideas for Earth Day 2015
• Adult Discussion Questions for Earth Day 2015

• Sacred Food: Youth Sunday School and Group Activities
• At the Lord's Table: Everyday Thanksgiving
• Congregational Study Guide: Food Week of Action (October 9-17) | PDF 
  
• Food Week of Action Guide
  

Hymn and Song Suggestions For Your Worship Service

Let All Things Now Living 
For the Beauty of the Earth
Come Ye Thankful People Come
When Morning Gilds the Skies
God of Grace and God of Glory
Touch the Earth Lightly
God of the Fertile Fields
The Earth Belongs to God Alone
For the Fruit of All Creation, Words Fred Pratt Green
I’m Gonna Eat at the Welcome Table, Words African-American spiritual
Let Us Break Bread Together, Words: African-American Spiritual
I Come with Joy, Words: Brian Wren
Come, Share the Lord, Words and Music: Bryan Jeffery Leech
In Remembrance of Me, Words: Ragan Courtney
Here at Thy Table, Lord, Words: May P, Hoyt
In This Very Room, Words and Music: Ron and Carol Harris

Resources to Accompany Your Worship Service

PRAYER STATION
Set up one or more tables around the sanctuary. On each table place a State, Regional, or World map. Have a basket of small stones.  Worshipers are asked to place a stone on the map and say a prayer of thanksgiving and blessings for farmers who grow food for us to eat. Pray also for all who struggle with climate change as they try to grow food, locally and around the world. 

For state maps to be used for your prayer station, search here.
To find a map of national or state-wide farmland, search here.

GUIDED MEDITATION
In the spirit of St. Ignatius of Loyola, find a guided meditation for your congregation or group here.

EPA's Food Recovery Challenge 

Food waste has become an enormous problem in our country, and the EPA has come up with a challenge for us to reduce this waste.  Many of our churches have ministries that feed the hungry and care for the homeless, just like Jesus taught us.  Coupling these two initiatives: curbing food waste and serving our neighbors, we will be on the path to being better stewards to our planet and our brothers and sisters.

For more information about the Food Recovery Challenge and how you or your congregation can get involved, view EPA presentation slides, and visit the Food Waste page at EPA.

---

Further Resources on Faith, Food, and the Climate

• Sacred Food: Youth Sunday School and Group Activities
  
• At the Lord's Table: Everyday Thanksgiving
  
• How Food, Water, and Energy are Connected - Presbyterian Hunger Program
• Evangelical Lutheran Church in America - Hunger, Poverty, and Climate Change resources and a Lenten reflection on food waste
  
• Presbyterian Church (USA) - Food and Faith Practices
  
• The Episcopal Church - The Intersection of Poverty and the Environment
• The United Church of Christ - Hunger and Food Security, Just Eating, and the Coffee Project
• Church of the Brethren - Going to the Garden 
• Bread for the World - Hunger and Climate Change
• Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon - Interfaith Food and Farms Partnership
  
• Faith, Food & the Environment: The Vocation of the Agricultural Leader
  
• Wake Forest School of Divinity - Food, Faith, and Religious Leadership Initiative
  
• GreenFaith - Food and Faith
  
• Society of St. Andrew: Gleaning America's Fields, Feeding America's Hungry
  
• Climate and Church: How Global Climate Change Will Impact Core Church Ministries

Resources for Faith Facilities

• Food Recovery Challenge – EPA is partnering with organizations and businesses to prevent and reduce wasted food.  https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/food-recovery-challenge-frc
• Faith-Based Food Recovery Challenge Endorsers – Endorsers help spread the word on the importance of reducing and donating waste food.  https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/endorsers-food-recovery-challenge
• How to Donate? – This website includes information on how to determine what types of food can be donated and how and where to donate.  https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/reduce-wasted-food-feeding-hungry-people
• Food Waste Assessment Guidebook – The first step toward reducing wasted food is to perform an assessment to identify what is actually being thrown away. Use this guide to learn how to do a wasted food assessment.  https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-08/documents/r5_fd_wste_guidebk_020615.pdf
• Waste Reduction Model (WARM) – The WARM tool helps organizations track and voluntarily report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions from several different waste management practices.  https://www.epa.gov/warm

Resources for Congregations, Communities, and Individuals

• Food:  Too Good to Waste – The implementation guide and toolkit aim to reduce wasteful household food management practices.  https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/food-too-good-waste-implementation-guide-and-toolkit

• How Do I Reduce my Food Waste? – This website includes resources on how to donate and ways to reduce your wasted food.  https://www.epa.gov/recycle/reducing-wasted-food-home
• How Do I Compost at Home? – This website includes the benefits of composting and tips on how to compost at home.  https://www.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home

Articles, News, and Other Resources

• Climate Change and Hunger - Living Lutheran, 2017
  
• Think of the Earth, Not Just Your Stomach, Panel Advises - Washington Post 19 Feb 2015
  
•  Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
  
• Climate Threats to Alaska Food Security
  
• World Food Programme: How Climate Change Affects Hunger
  
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• Seattle is Now Publicly Shaming People for Putting Food in Their Trash Bins - Washington Post 27 Jan 2015
• Wasted Food is a Huge Climate Problem - Grist 16 Sept 2013
• Food Wastage Footprint: Impact on Natural Resources
• Wasted: How America is Losing up to 40% of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill - NRDC Aug 2012

---