A reminder to end hunger

By The Rev. Dr. Michael L. Burk

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Though deeply rooted in the soil and values of Iowa, the World Food Prize is global in its scope and significance. Thanks to the vision of Iowa's own Norman E. Borlaug, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize (1970), the World Food Prize honors individuals who have made vital contributions to improving the quality, quantity or availability of food throughout the world.

In naming David Beckmann and Jo Luck as this year's laureates, the World Food Prize shined a light on the capacity of everyday citizens to end hunger around the globe.

Because of their work with two of the world's foremost grass roots anti-hunger organizations, Beckmann, in his leadership of Bread for the World, and Luck, at the helm of Heifer International, were inspired choices for the 2010 World Food Prize awarded last week in Des Moines.

Beckmann is a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and we take delight in calling him “one of our own.” His work through Bread for the World has led a movement of people in the pews to end hunger and poverty. Pastor Beckmann's passion for this world-changing work is unmistakably a reflection of his faith.

In the Oct. 11 Newsweek, Lisa Miller writes, “Though Beckmann has rubbed elbows with Bono and Angelina Jolie on the aid-to-Africa circuit, and though he continues to speak at the United Nations and to Congress on behalf of the world's poorest people, his recent mission has been to illuminate the plight of the domestic poor.”

It is Pastor Beckmann's clarity about his own faith that has allowed him to work tirelessly with people from varied faith traditions and in a non-partisan fashion with elected leaders, toward the common goal of alleviating hunger. In that regard, he reflects a core mission of his church, the ELCA.

Beckmann's current emphasis on domestic poverty is a reminder to people throughout Iowa that many of our neighbors are hungry and that we can make a constructive difference in their lives. The instinct to help the people around us, especially the most vulnerable, is deeply rooted in the soil and values of Iowa.

The challenges are real and the work can be difficult. The 2010 World Food Prize serves as a timely reminder and encouragement to be everyday citizens working to end hunger, especially in the communities we call “our own.”

The Rev. Dr. Michael L. Burk is bishop for the Southeastern Iowa synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, in Iowa City. Comments: (319) 338-1273.