This Thanksgiving, put an extra chair at your table and make room for a "silent guest." That guest can be one of the world's 805 million hungry people.
The "silent guest" tradition goes back to the autumn of 1947, when families across America rallied to feed the hungry in Europe. It had been two years since World War II had ended. But the peace still had to be won.
Hunger ravaged the war-torn countries. Drought was causing food shortages. There was no way they could rebuild under such stress. As former Army Chief and Secretary of State of George Marshall said, "hunger and insecurity are the worst enemies of peace."
People across the country pitched in. They filled carloads of the Friendship Train with food to send overseas. The War Relief Services of the Catholic Church held a food drive for Thanksgiving.
On Thanksgiving Day, families mailed donations equal to the cost of feeding a "silent guest" at their holiday meal. The "silent guest" donations bought CARE packages for the hungry in Europe. The government followed the public's lead and passed an interim food aid package to help Austria, France and Italy survive the winter.
The feeding of the hungry was essentially the first phase of the famous Marshall Plan which rebuilt Europe. This was one of greatest peacemaking initiatives in world history. It was made possible because people cared, even about those thousands of miles away.
This Thanksgiving, there are people starving because of wars in the Middle East and Africa. The tragic conflicts in Iraq and Syria have no end in sight. There are millions of people, forced from their homes, who will only survive if the world provides humanitarian aid. Here at home, a new report from Feeding America shows that many working families still need food assistance.
Hunger is near and far, but there is enough food for everyone on the planet. So this Thanksgiving, you can donate to feed a "silent guest" and help your local food bank, the United Nations World Food Program, Catholic Relief Services and others fighting hunger.
You can be a voice for the hungry. Starving children around the world have no representative in the halls of power. This Thanksgiving that can be you, helping to feed a "silent guest."
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