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CV NEWS FEED // The Diocese of Rochester, New York, is continuing to support Catholic Relief Service’s (CRS) annual Rice Bowl, a yearly Lenten appeal that raises money to combat world hunger.
The Catholic Courier reports that the initiative was founded in 1975 by Monsignor Robert Coll in Allentown, Pennsylvania, with the help of other local religious leaders. Msgr. Coll encouraged his parishioners to eat a lighter meal and donate the saved money to fight hunger in Africa.
The Diocese of Rochester has a long history of supporting the CRS Rice Bowl, diocesan Rice Bowl coordinator Kathy Dubel noted. She said that the diocese’s 61 parishes raised $90,000 in 2024, “at a time when the cost of living had risen and many family budgets were stretched.” The amount exceeded that collected in 2023.
“This sacrifice for others is a beautiful statement about community in the global body of Christ,” she said.
Three-quarters of Rice Bowl donations help fight hunger around the world, and the other quarter assists dioceses’ local food banks and other ministries that relieve hunger and poverty.
“This global/local allocation of our Rice Bowl alms helps deepen our awareness that neighbors close to home and around the world carry heavy crosses,” Dubel said, “and that we have the means to alleviate their burdens.”
