Friday , March 29 2024
On Halloween world hunger may be out of sight for most, it does not have to be out of mind

Feed An Invisible Guest for Halloween, One of the World’s Hungry

On Halloween there might be a twist you can add to the night’s festivities. Remember in the film classic Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein, the comedic duo had to deal with not only one monster but also Dracula and the Wolfman.

At the end of the film, just when they thought they were safe, they meet another villain, the Invisible Man. (See youtube clip)

For Halloween tonight think of having someone invisible with you trick or treating, not someone as scary as Vincent Price’s Invisible Man character. But how about an invisible guest, one of the world’s hungry people, walking with you when you go door-to-door.

At any house if you asked for one dollar it could buy four or five meals for your invisible guest. You could send that money to a charity like the World Food Programme, UNICEF, Catholic Relief Services, Save the Children or Feeding America.

UNICEF has a trick-or-treat program it has been running for years, which you can learn more about at their web site. Susannah Masur of UNICEF USA says donations to the trick-or-treat program go to their general fund, which includes nutrition. This helps to purchase the life-saving food plumpy’nut, which saves children from deadly malnutrition. (See my article Halloween:Trick-Or-Treat or Plumpy’nut.)

It does not take much to help. Even without collecting a dollar, a few minutes online playing FreeRice can also raise donations. You could take a few minutes playing this game after trick-or-treating. Every correct answer you get playing FreeRice means donations to the UN World Food Programme, the largest hunger relief agency.

On Halloween you can also educate others about the 870 million people worldwide who are suffering from hunger. Just even talking about it on Halloween night can make a difference.

For although world hunger may be out of sight for most, it does not have to be out of mind. And Halloween offers a night where you can have fun and make someone else’s day too: Your invisible guest who can feel the joy of trick or treat because of your generosity.

About William Lambers

William Lambers is the author of several books including Ending World Hunger: School Lunches for Kids Around the World. This book features over 50 interviews with officials from the UN World Food Programme and other charities discussing school feeding programs that fight child hunger. He is also the author of Nuclear Weapons, The Road to Peace: From the Disarming of the Great Lakes to the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, Open Skies for Peace, The Spirit of the Marshall Plan: Taking Action Against World Hunger, School Lunches for Kids Around the World, The Roadmap to End Global Hunger, From War to Peace and the Battle of Britain. He is also a writer for the History News Service. His articles have been published by newspapers including the Cincinnati Enquirer, Des Moines Register, the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Buffalo News, San Diego Union Tribune, the Providence Journal, Free Lance-Star (VA), the Bakersfield Californian, the Washington Post, Miami Herald (FL), Chicago Sun-Times, the Patriot Ledger (MA), Charleston Sunday Gazette Mail (WV), the Cincinnati Post, Salt Lake Tribune (UT), North Adams Transcript (MA), Wichita Eagle (KS), Monterey Herald (CA), Athens Banner-Herald (GA) and the Duluth News Journal. His articles also appear on History News Network (HNN) and Think Africa Press. Mr. Lambers is a graduate of the College of Mount St. Joseph in Ohio with degrees in Liberal Arts (BA) and Organizational Leadership (MS). He is also a member of the Feeding America Blogger Council.

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