History of IDES
Following a major typhoon that hit the already devastatingly poor country of Bangladesh, Milton Bates, a Navy Veteran, and General Motors technician, and his wife, Janet, were deeply moved by the utter destruction they saw on the news reports. Burdened to help somehow, Milton and Janet prayed for God to reveal a way to unite the brotherhood of independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ in a significant relief effort. After writing and sending over 500 letters from their own kitchen table to various Christian leaders, 9 men wrote back that they would support Milton if he volunteered to lead the effort. Faithfully, Milton and Janet continued to pray for direction, and for the missionaries, they were connected with around the world. Then, at the North American Christian Convention a few months later (1973), Milton and these 9 leaders met together for the first time, and International Disaster Emergency Service was created. Milton is survived by his wife, Janet, his 3 daughters Nancy, Janet-Elaine, and Louise, and his son Jim.
Milton Bates died in 2007, leaving his son-in-law, Rick Jett, as the executive director of IDES.
Now, IDES has expanded to 9 full-time staff members working out of their headquarters in Noblesville, Indiana.
In politics, humanitarian aid, and the social sciences, hunger is defined as a condition in which a person does not have the physical or financial capability to eat sufficient food to meet basic nutritional needs for a sustained period. In the field of hunger relief, the term hunger is used in a sense that goes beyond the common desire for food that all humans experience, also known as an appetite. The most extreme form of hunger, when malnutrition is widespread, and when people have started dying of starvation through lack of access to sufficient, nutritious food, leads to a declaration of famine.
A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center is a place where food is offered to the hungry and homeless, usually for no cost, or sometimes at a below-market price. Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, soup kitchens are often staffed by volunteer organizations, such as church or community groups. Soup kitchens sometimes obtain food from a food bank for free or at a low price, because they are considered a charity, which makes it easier for them to feed the many people who require their services.
Paradise Regained is a poem by English poet John Milton, first published in 1671. The volume in which it appeared also contained the poet's closet drama Samson Agonistes. Paradise Regained is connected by name to his earlier and more famous epic poem Paradise Lost, with which it shares similar theological themes; indeed, its title, its use of blank verse, and its progression through Christian history recall the earlier work. However, this effort deals primarily with the temptation of Christ as recounted in the Gospel of Luke.
Latter-day Saint Charities is a branch of the welfare department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The organization's stated mission is to relieve suffering, to foster self-reliance for people of all nationalities and religions, and to provide opportunities for service.
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Food Yoga International, formally Food For Life Global, is a non-profit vegan food relief organization founded in 1995 to serve as the headquarters for Food Yoga International projects. Food Yoga International has its roots in ISKCON dating back to 1974. It is a completely independent non-profit organization that supports the work of Food Yoga International projects both inside and outside of ISKCON. Its network of 291 affiliates span the globe, with projects occupying over 65 countries. Volunteers provide over 1 million free meals daily. Food Yoga International engages in various sorts of hunger relief, including outreach to the homeless, provision for disadvantaged children throughout India, and provision for victims of natural disasters around the world.
Lester Frank Sumrall was an American Pentecostal pastor, evangelist, teacher, and missionary. He founded the Lester Sumrall Evangelistic Association (LeSEA) and its humanitarian arm LeSEA Global Feed the Hungry, World Harvest Radio International, and World Harvest Bible College.
The Missionary Church of the Disciples of Jesus Christ is an evangelical non-profit religious organization based in West Covina, CA. The group consists of 2,000 to 3,000 members throughout North America and Latin America. Members, referred to as missionaries, who come from a variety of different socio-economic backgrounds, dedicate their time to spreading the word of God. Training before becoming missionaries include reading and studying the Bible daily, praying and communal events. Using the Bible as their source of doctrine, adepts carry out various activities such as spiritual counseling, disaster relief teams, seasonal programs that consist in the distribution of food and toys for the community, missionary training programs, and charity works through the collection of donations.
Food rescue, also called food recovery, food salvage or surplus food redistribution, is the practice of gleaning edible food that would otherwise go to waste from places such as farms, produce markets, grocery stores, restaurants, or dining facilities and distributing it to local emergency food programs.
The Society of St. Andrew (SoSA) is a United Methodist hunger-relief nonprofit focusing on food wastage and poverty-induced starvation. The organization takes produce donations and serves them in SoSA-run distribution programs such as the Gleaning Network, Harvest of Hope, and the Seed Potato Project.
A bishop's storehouse in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints usually refers to a commodity resource center that is used by bishops of the church to provide goods to needy individuals. The storehouses stock basic foods and essential household items. The term can also be used figuratively to refer to all of the time, talents, skills, materials, compassion, and financial means of the members of the church that are available to be applied in the service of the needy.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Oklahoma refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Oklahoma. Official church membership as a percentage of general population was 1.20% in 2014. According to the 2014 Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey, 1% of Oklahomans self-identify themselves most closely with the LDS Church. The LDS Church is the 8th largest denomination in Oklahoma.
Mary's Meals, formerly known as Scottish International Relief (SIR), is a registered charity which sets up school feeding programmes in some of the world's poorest communities, where hunger and poverty prevent children from gaining an education. It was founded in 2002 and has grown from its first feeding operation of 200 children in Malawi, to a worldwide campaign, providing free school meals in hundreds of schools and feeding more than two million children daily. Mary's Meals is named after Mary, the mother of Jesus, by its founders, who were inspired by their Catholic faith, although the charity is not a Catholic organisation.
Bangued Christian Hospital is a private general hospital situated in the hillside of Casamata hills known as the Lorben's Hillside in Torrijos Street, Zone 5, Bangued, Abra, Philippines. Bangued Christian Hospital was established in the year 1948, and grew under the contributions of Mennonite Disaster Service of the Mennonite Central Committee. The hospital is deeply rooted in the Anabaptist cause and it was once under the spiritual guidance of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines. BCH is one of the earliest and most respected hospital in Abra emphasizing Christian concern for its patients and employees. The hospital is widely known among Abrenian people as "Mission Hospital".
Hunger Task Force, Inc. is a non-profit, anti-hunger public policy organization in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Hunger Task Force works to end hunger in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin by providing direct food delivery services, and works to end future hunger by advocating for fair and responsible administration of federal nutrition assistance programs.
Chronic hunger has affected a sizable proportion of the UK's population throughout its history. Following improved economic conditions that followed World War II, hunger became a less pressing issue. Yet since the 2007–2008 world food price crisis that began in late 2006 and especially since the Great Recession, long term hunger began to return as a prominent social problem. Albeit only affecting a small minority of the UK's population, by December 2013, according to a group of doctors and academics writing in the British Medical Journal, hunger in the UK had reached the level of a "public health emergency".
Buddhist Global Relief is an organization of socially engaged Buddhists with a mission to "combat chronic hunger and malnutrition". It was founded by Bhikkhu Bodhi in 2008.
Sharon Eubank is the director of Latter-day Saint Charities. She also served as the first counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from April 2017 to August 2022.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Pakistan refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Pakistan. The church does not publish how many members are in Pakistan, but it is estimated there are roughly four thousand members in thirteen congregations in Pakistan.
