Lent

Operation Rice Bowl

Operation Rice Bowl - a Lenten solidarity program of Catholic Relief Services - is used by millions of Catholics in more than 15,000 parishes and schools in all 50 states.

L e n t
• Everyday People, Everyday Faith articles
• Other Lent articles

Participants in Operation Rice Bowl are asked to:

• pray with their families and faith communities;

• fast in solidarity with the hungry;

• learn about the global community and the challenges of poverty overseas, and

• give sacrificially to help those in need.

Operation Rice Bowl began in 1975 in the Diocese of Allentown, Pa., because of the drought in the African Sahel. It has since raised more than $155 million to fund development projects that make food more available to people around the world and in the United States.

For Lent 2006, the Operation Rice Bowl website, http://orb.crs.org/index.cfm, includes meatless recipes, virtual tours and an interactive global map that highlights the 2006 countries of focus - Kenya, Zambia, Nicaragua, Vietnam and Afghanistan. There is also information on Operation Rice Bowl funded programs run in these and other developing countries.

The map also shows how 25% of the donations collected in the Green Bay Diocese and other U.S. dioceses are used to sponsor local projects.