Rice Bowl launches campaign

CRS Rice Bowl can often be perceived as the annual campaign to feed thousands of faceless families in faraway places.

But closer to home, Operation Rice Bowl offers hope to a homeless pregnant woman seeking shelter and resources that can change her life and the life of her baby. It offers hope to the needy of Baton Rouge, many, including immigrants, showing up at the doorstep of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge with little more than the clothes they are wearing, no money, hopelessness evident in the lines of their faces.

“Operation Rice Bowl is important because it can make a difference in the lives of so many people and families,” said  CCDBR communications and Rice Bowl coordinator Catherine Weidert. “Rice Bowl helps us give hope to those people.”

Rice Bowl, with its iconic boxes collected in the schools and elsewhere, is held annually during Lent, allowing Catholics to unite to put their faith into actions through prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

“Through CRS Rice Bowl, families learn about how our sisters and brothers across the globe overcome hardships like hunger and malnutrition, and how through Lenten alms, we have the power to make the world a better place for all,” Weidert said.

She added that while a majority of funds go to Catholic Relief Services programs, 25% stays within the diocese. A year ago, CCDBR raised $11,000 through Rice Bowl, and in combination with those funds and other revenue streams, grants and donations the agency served about 15,000 individuals in 2022.

“By making just a small sacrifice during Lent, you can help families in need both worldwide and right here in our community,” she said. “Your Rice Bowl donations help provide safe housing for homeless pregnant women through Sanctuary for Life. It helps a family who fled danger in their home country find refuge in the United States.

“We are called to serve those in need as Catholics; Rice Bowl is a great way to do that.”

“Globally, these funds help teach people how to farm, use new water systems, live a healthier life all the way around,” she added.

CRS Rice Bowl was launched more than 40 years ago in response to famine in Africa. The help came in the form of a small cardboard box, marking the beginning of what was initially called “Operation Rice Bowl” in 1975 for church parishes in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

A year later, Rice Bowl was adopted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and in 1977 they voted to make it the official program of Catholic Relief Services.

In its first 40 years, more than $250 million has been raised through the Rice Bowl incentive. Of that, $62 million went to domestic programs.

Annually, donations help support the work of CRS in more than 100 countries worldwide.

According to Rice Bowl records, nearly 13,000 Catholics nationwide participated in 2022.

Many parishes and Catholic schools order CRS Rice Bowls and Lenten calendars for their communities. Bi-lingual Rice Bowl posters can be found and ordered at crsricebowl.org/order.

Many church parishes throughout the Diocese have Rice Bowls available for parishioners to take home.

For more information, contact Weidert at cweidert@ccdio br.org.