A recent report from Kerala left me deeply unsettled. A Bengali migrant worker—after finishing his shift—was summoned in the late evening to dig a deep pit. He obeyed, assuming the task was urgent. What followed left him devastated: buckets of unused food were dumped into the pit, and he was ordered to bury them. Witnesses recall the man sitting down and weeping, likely thinking of the hungry families in his home village and the countless others for whom that discarded food might have been a lifeline.
The world today produces enough food to nourish every one of its eight-plus billion inhabitants. Yet one in eleven people still goes to bed hungry each night, and women and children constitute nearly 60 percent of those suffering chronic hunger. Decades ago, John F. Kennedy warned: “We have the means to eliminate hunger from the face of the earth. We only need the will.” The warning remains painfully relevant. Despite ample resources, global leadership continues to prioritize military expenditure, luxury consumption, and personal or political gain, while commitments to end hunger often remain symbolic. In the absence of meaningful political will, the responsibility inevitably shifts to citizens, communities, and local institutions.
Amid widespread indifference, several individual or community-based initiatives demonstrate the potential of grassroots action. The examples I have shared below are those I have witnessed personally; countless others exist across the world. In fact, simply listing them is a comforting and encouraging effort.
Around St. Peter’s Square in Rome, volunteers distribute food to hundreds of homeless individuals each evening. These small, consistent acts of compassion—vehicles arriving, meals prepared, and lines forming quietly—reveal how collective goodwill can fill gaps left by institutional failures.
One of Kerala’s most inspiring examples is the work of P U Thomas, founder of the Navajeevan Trust. Beginning as a hospital attendant in the late 1960s, Thomas personally distributed food and medicine to impoverished patients. Over five decades, this effort has evolved into a comprehensive social mission. Today, Navajeevan provides up to 5,000 home-cooked meals daily across multiple hospitals in Kottayam and offers shelter, healthcare, and rehabilitation to more than 200 homeless and mentally ill individuals—all without institutional funding. His work exemplifies how sustained compassion can change thousands of lives.
Founded by Capuchin Fatheer Bobby Jose Kattikad, the Anjappam (Five Loaves) network of vegetarian restaurants operates on a “pay what you can” model. Meals cost around 25 rupees, but those unable to pay receive food free of charge. In the evenings, these eateries transform into reading rooms, promoting dignity, community, and the understanding that food is a fundamental human right.
Hunger is often the quietest cry—one that goes unheard amid louder political and economic priorities. Pope Francis has stated unequivocally: “Hunger is criminal; food is an inalienable right.” Catherine Russel, executive director of UNICEF, said: “In a world of plenty, there is no excuse for children to go hungry or die of malnutrition. Hunger gnaws at the stomach of a child. It gnaws, too, at their dignity, their sense of safety, and their future.” In Dilexit Te, Pope Leo XIV warned of the structural causes of poverty, condemning the “dictatorship of an economy that kills,” where the wealth of a minority rises exponentially even as the majority becomes increasingly excluded from prosperity. Such teachings underline a fundamental truth: hunger is not merely a logistical failure but a moral one.
The examples above of proactive action are not isolated anecdotes; they are reminders. Hunger does not exist only in distant or unfamiliar places—it exists around us. The challenge, then, is personal: Can we look around us and identify someone who is struggling for food, medicine, or shelter—and respond in whatever small way we can?
Miracles, after all, often begin with small acts of courage and compassion. Mother Teresa’s words remain the simplest and most profound reminder of our responsibility: “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”
- By M K George
