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 usually for free 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.
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.
A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distribute food directly with their food pantries.
The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is the global humanitarian aid and development organization of the United Methodist Church (UMC). UMCOR is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization operated under the auspices of the General Board of Global Ministries. One hundred percent of donations are directed to an earmarked project or relief effort. Administrative expenses are funded by an annual offering collected by United Methodist churches on UMCOR Sunday.
Food for Life Global is a non-profit vegan food relief organization founded in 1995 to serve as the headquarters for Food for Life projects. Food for Life Global has its roots in ISKCON dating back to 1974. It is a completely independent non-profit organization that supports the work of Food for Life 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 For Life 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.
Clifford E. Clinton was a California restaurateur who founded Meals for Millions, one of two parent organizations of Freedom from Hunger, in 1946.
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.
Redwood Empire Food Bank (REFB) is a food bank on the North Coast of California which belongs to the Feeding America network. Its mission is to end hunger in its community.
Food Bank For New York City is a non-profit social services organization and the major hunger-relief organization working against hunger in the five boroughs. Its aim is to organize food, information and support for needy citizens of New York City.
Carolyn Winfrey Gillette is a hymn writer and Presbyterian pastor. She has written over 400 hymns that are sung throughout the USA and the world. Gillette and her husband Bruce are the pastors of First Presbyterian Union Church in Owego, New York since December 2018.
The Society of St. Andrew (SoSA) is a grassroots, faith-based, hunger relief nonprofit working with all denominations to bridge the hunger gap between 96 billion pounds of food wasted every year in the United States and the nearly 40 million Americans who live in poverty. SoSA relies on support from donors, volunteers, and farmers as they glean nutritious excess produce from farmers' fields and orchards after harvest and deliver it to people in need across the United States. SoSA provides nutritious, healthy produce through programs such as the Potato Project, 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 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 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 one 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 lasting global inflation in the price of food that began in late 2006 and especially since the financial crisis of 2009, 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".
Sharon Eubank was 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. She is also the director of Latter-day Saint Charities.
