11.20.2003 ET

(CSRwire) BOSTON, MA - The nation’s oldest and largest anti-hunger movement, Oxfam’s Fast for a World Harvest, marks its 30th anniversary this Thanksgiving season. Over the last three decades, more than a million people have participated in hundreds of annual Fast events to raise awareness, relieve hunger and provide economic opportunity to those in need around the world.

Today 840 million people worldwide suffer the debilitating effects of chronic malnutrition and hunger. Envision nearly three times the population of the United States suffering severe hunger every day. And over 30,000 children under the age of five die each day from hunger and other preventable causes.

To combat hunger and to educate their peers on the global issues of hunger and poverty, Fast participants choose to skip a meal, go without food for a day, host an Oxfam Hunger Banquet or organize other creative educational events. Whether acting as individuals or as members of a church, school, university or community group, Fast participants come to understand that hunger is not an isolated problem or one that affects only certain communities. Participants also realize that their actions can make a real difference in people’s lives.

“The Fast’s 30th anniversary is very special to us,” said Oxfam President Raymond C. Offenheiser. “During these three decades we have touched thousands of lives. Fast participants teach their communities that poverty is not inevitable and hunger can be overcome. The people behind the Fast, schools, faith groups, community groups, are a vital part of this unparalleled movement.”

Over the past three decades, Fast organizers have raised millions of dollars for Oxfam’s efforts to fight hunger and poverty in over 30 countries. As a result, whole communities have gone from subsistence farming to thriving agricultural markets; other communities have received humanitarian relief, and Americans have sent a positive and caring message to the world.

The Fast for a World Harvest began in 1974, on the Thursday before Thanksgiving, when 250,000 people; students, churchgoers, families, and community groups fasted for the day, or skipped a meal, donating the money they would have spent on food to Oxfam’s humanitarian work. So began the nation’s longest-lived movement to alleviate hunger and poverty.

Building on 30 years of real-life educational success with its Hunger Banquets, Oxfam America launched www.hungerbanquet.org, an interactive online learning experience that illustrates the root causes of poverty and hunger in the world—a great learning tool for kids and their families. This innovative site invites the user to step into a world where access to food and other resources are often scarce. Navigate the choices that will determine how much you and your family will eat.

For information on individual Fast participant interviews, experiences and stories visit www.oxfamamerica.org/fast.

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