Challenge to End Hunger—Sr. Carla Kovack, OP

As we come to the end of the 2021 Catholic Sisters Week and our Challenge to End Hunger through service, financial support, and raising awareness, Prioress General Sr. Carla Kovack, OP offers the following reflection on food insecurity. Food insecurity is the inability to provide enough food for every person to live an active, healthy life. When I hear on the news the story of a single mom, out of work due to the pandemic, worried about feeding her children, I just want to do something. The local food bank that I collect bags for is there to help her every week. When I may be downtown, and someone asks for a donation to buy a meal, I point out St. Vincent’s Dining Room just around the corner—a place that creates nutritional meals to go since indoor dining is not currently permitted. My What’s App beeps and my friend from Uganda asks how we are faring with the pandemic. Their country continues to be on shut down with most schools closed, people out of work, and transportation limited. I have learned from my visits there that most people in rural areas eat what they are able to grow. What if the extremes of weather ruin a crop? The ever-present possibility of this food insecurity shifts to hunger when climate change disrupts the normal patterns of rain.

Sr. Carla Kovack’s story is part of our 2021 Catholic Sisters Week series, a time during which we are participating in a Challenge to End Hunger in collaboration with other congregations. We aim to inspire our friends and neighbors to lend their support in any way they can to help end hunger, not just during Catholic Sisters Week, but throughout the year. #catholicsistersweek #changingtheworld #celebratingtraditions