Saturday, October 18, starting at 12:00 p.m. Several churches are working together to distribute food to those in need at Blaha Lujza Square.
The Food for Life Foundation distributes food in sixty countries around the world, providing millions of hot meals each year to those in need, which is why we consider it important, on the World Day for Food and the Fight Against Poverty, to draw special attention to the poverty afflicting our country as well and to the importance of caring for others. At noon on October 18, we will once again hold a large-scale food distribution at our regular distribution site, Blaha Lujza Square. As part of this initiative, we will, as usual, provide 1,300 food packages and 1,500 servings of hot meals to families in need, the elderly, and those living on the streets.
What makes this occasion special is that, in addition to Krishna devotees, several other religious denominations are joining the initiative this time. We see religious wars and conflicts unfolding in many parts of the world, but we believe that religions should instead join forces in many areas for the sake of humanity’s future. We consider it more important to emphasize the similarities and parallels between different religious perspectives than to foster hostility and discrimination based on their differences. One common message found in the various scriptures, which all originate from God, is caring for the vulnerable, supporting our fellow human beings, and showing mercy and compassion; therefore, there are excellent opportunities for cooperation in this area. That is why we have proposed that several churches join forces to serve the poor through a joint food distribution on this day.
The participating churches support the relief effort both through their personal presence and through monetary or food donations. Among the churches that are continually joining the initiative are the Arya Maitreya Mandala Buddhist Mission, the Hungarian Karma Kagyu Community, the Church of Muslims in Hungary, the Hungarian Islamic Community, the Sim Shalom Progressive Jewish Congregation, and the Community of Krishna Consciousness in Hungary, which conceived the idea. The Hungarian Maltese Charity Service has also joined the initiative; they are helping to provide medical care for participants by setting up a mobile medical clinic.
October 16 and 17 mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and World Food Day, which the United Nations designated as an international day in 1979 following a Hungarian initiative. As a result, the horrific levels of hunger experienced worldwide have decreased by 10%—meaning that over the decades, humanity has managed to raise 10% of the population to a stable, to a level meeting the most basic subsistence needs by having economically more developed countries begin to support people in developing countries through the work of aid organizations. They provided assistance primarily in the form of clean drinking water, food, and, of course, medical care. This represents a kind of resource equalization among different parts of the world; but the work is far from over, because even today there are approximately 842 million people suffering from hunger worldwide (2012 data)—though some estimate that the number of hungry people reaches one billion.