Our Approach

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. – Matthew 25:35

God richly provides for daily bread — the earth can produce enough food for everyone. Yet, many of our sisters and brothers still go hungry.

By providing immediate relief to those who are hungry, we meet basic needs and recognize the universal human right to food. But ending hunger is about more than food. By connecting people with the resources they need to produce food and gain access to clean water, education, health care and sources of income, long-term, sustainable change can be accomplished.

We start with relationships marked by conversation and listening. We believe people know their own communities best. It is our congregations and our global companion churches that first identify the local needs and related solutions to help make a difference. Then, we partner with communities to help make those solutions a reality.

Working through ELCA congregations, global companion churches, The Lutheran World Federation and other partners like Bread for the World, Church World Service, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and Lutheran World Relief, the ELCA reaches more places more effectively than we could ever do alone. In addition to funding relief and development projects that assist our sisters and brothers in need, we engage members of the ELCA in education and advocacy to help change the systems that perpetuate poverty.

Through this comprehensive approach, we work to address hunger from all angles — both domestically and globally.

Learn More: Domestic Approach
Learn More: International Approach