A Lions Movement to End Hunger in Our Communities
~ PID Narendra Bhandari
National Coordinator
– Weeks Of Service
– (LCOI)
Every 10 seconds, a child dies from hunger-related causes. Every night, 783 million people go to bed hungry. These aren't just statistics—they're mothers choosing between rent and food, children unable to concentrate in school because of empty stomachs, and elders skipping meals in silence. But here's the truth that should awaken every Lion: We have the power to change this.
From January 3–11, 2026, Lions across India and around the world will unite for our Second Service Week: “Be the Roar Against Hunger.” This isn’t merely another service activity—it’s a declaration that where there is hunger, there will be a Lion standing ready to serve.
Hunger devastates education, productivity, and entire communities. Even as our cities prosper, families in our own neighborhoods struggle silently for their next meal. As Lions, we don’t serve because it’s easy—we serve because someone needs us. Our motto “We Serve” isn’t a slogan; it’s a sacred commitment. This Hunger Week gives us the opportunity to make that commitment visible, measurable, and transformational.
The success of our First Service Week on Mental Health and Wellness proved what Lions can accomplish when we unite with purpose. Now, we face an equally urgent crisis viz. Hunger—and once again, we will not turn away.
Across every culture and faith tradition in India, feeding the hungry is considered among the highest acts of service. Hinduism regards Anna Daan as the greatest gift. Sikhism embodies this through Langar – the community kitchen where all are welcome regardless of status, caste, or creed. Islam emphasizes feeding the needy as fundamental to faith, the concept of Sadaqah (voluntary charity) and Zakat (obligatory alms) ensures community welfare. In Christianity, feeding the hungry isn’t optional—it’s essential to faith in action. Buddhism and Jainism uphold compassion through Dana and Ahimsa.
Lionism stands firmly alongside these traditions. At the heart of Lions philosophy is the belief that service to humanity is our highest calling. Alleviating hunger is not just charitable work, but a moral imperative. When we feed the hungry, we honor the best of every culture, every faith, every human heart.
Every Club can find its unique way to make an impact. Here are proven service models—choose what resonates with your community.
Immediate Relief Initiatives
Food Donation Drives
Transform your Club Hall into a collection centre. Mobilize businesses, places of worship, schools, and community organizations to contribute non-perishable items. Partner with food banks and trusted distribution networks to ensure that collected supplies reach the most vulnerable, efficiently and respectfully.
Community Meal Programs (Kichadi Ghars)
Organize warm, nutritious meals for the underprivileged. Collaborate with local chefs, restaurants and religious institutions to set up temporary kitchens in underserved localities.
Hunger Relief Kits
Assemble ready-to-eat meal kits containing packaged foods, water, fruits, and hygiene items for homeless individuals and low-income families.
Mobile Food Pantries
Deploy mobile food distribution vehicles to reach remote or underserved neighborhoods.
Sustainable and Long-Term Solutions
Lions Community Gardens
Convert vacant lands into productive vegetable gardens. Engage schools, residents, and volunteers in planting, maintaining, and harvesting crops. Partner with agricultural experts to introduce sustainable farming.
Support Local Farmers
Create linkages connecting farmers directly with food distribution channels, minimizing waste while feeding the hungry
Food Literacy and Nutrition Workshops
Conduct educational sessions teaching affordable cooking, nutrition basics, and meal planning.
School Nutrition and Weekend Programs
Distribute weekend meal packs to underprivileged students to ensure they don’t face Monday on an empty stomach.
Skill-Building and Livelihood Programs
Introduce training sessions in culinary arts and sustainable agriculture, creating employment opportunities.
Targeted Compassion and Dignified Assistance
Senior Citizen Meal Support
Deliver freshly prepared meals to elderly individuals living alone. Combine nourishment with personal interaction.
Grocery Voucher Partnerships
Collaborate with stores to issue vouchers for low-income families, upholding dignity by allowing recipients to select their own items.
‘Pay It Forward’ Program
Partner with restaurants, cafés, and supermarkets where customers can prepay for an extra meal or groceries for those in need.
Collaborative and Community-Based Impact
Food Rescue Initiatives
Partner with restaurants, event managers and function halls to collect surplus food for redistribution to shelters.
Partnership with NGOs
Amplify reach by aligning with established hunger relief and social welfare organizations.
Awareness and Advocacy
Hunger-Free World Campaigns
Organize competitions in schools on themes of hunger eradication. Host presentations on nutritious foods by experts. Encourage individuals and communities to express their experiences, hopes, and ideas for eradicating hunger through art exhibitions, photography, music, and storytelling. Art humanizes statistics and transforms awareness into action.
Multimedia Campaigns
Leverage social media and local media to share stories and ways to help. Engage influencers and thought leaders to build a community movement around the cause of hunger eradication.
Hunger Simulation and Empathy Events
Host experiences that recreate challenges faced by those with food insecurity.
Art and Storytelling Projects
Use exhibitions, photography, and music to humanize hunger statistics.
Advocacy and Policy Engagement
Work with local governments, municipal bodies, and policymakers to promote reforms addressing systemic causes of hunger.
Every meal served begins with one Lion who decides that hunger ends here. Lions, Leos, family members, friends—everyone can volunteer to collect food, prepare meals, distribute relief kits, plant gardens, deliver meals to seniors, and document impact.
Form a Committee
Designate a Hunger Week coordination committee with clear roles and responsibilities
Prepare Budget
Cover food costs, transportation, materials
Find Resources and Funds
Through Club treasury, member contributions, sponsors, partnerships
Identify Beneficiaries
Survey your community for those most in need
Execute
Implement with dedication and compassion
Appreciate
Recognize all volunteers and partners
When you hand a meal to someone in need and see relief flood their face—you don’t just change their day. They change you.
You don’t have to navigate this alone:
District Level Support
Contact your District Governor or Coordinator for toolkits, partnerships, best practices, and media templates.
Global Service Team
For broader guidance on hunger relief strategies, sustainable food security programs, and international best practices, connect with the Lions Clubs International Global Service Team.
Direct Program Support
Email lcoihunger@gmail.com or visit Lions Clubs International website, for specific questions about Hunger Week implementation, resources, or to share your Club’s success stories.
I know you’re busy. But I’m asking you to remember why you became a Lion. Wasn’t it for moments like this—when ordinary people unite to accomplish extraordinary good?
From January 3–11, let every community see what Lions are capable of. Let the hungry find hope wearing a Lions vest. Let skeptics witness compassion that roars louder than indifference. Let our children see us living our values. This week will be measured in meals that fill empty stomachs, families stabilized through crisis, and communities that witness Lions as heroes in action.
When we launched Mental Health Week, we proved skeptics wrong. Now we face hunger—and once again, we will not turn away.
Not on our watch. Where there is hunger, there will be a Lion.
This isn’t a slogan. It’s a vow. Every Lion who participates becomes part of a global movement declaring that hunger has no place in our world.
The people who need us can’t wait—they’re hungry tonight.
Register your Club’s commitment. Plan your projects. Rally your volunteers. And on January 3, 2026, let the roar begin.
Share your innovative ideas and successful programs with us at: lcoihunger@gmail.com
NATIONAL COORDINATOR, WEEKS OF SERVICE (LCOI)
PID Narendra Bhandari
TEAM MEMBERS:
- PDG Abhay Shastri
- M. nagaRaju (LCIP)
- Pinkesh Patodia Jain (FDI)
We’re organizing a virtual meeting to strategize our collective impact. Your experience and creativity can help shape our national approach.
Contact Information:
- Email: lcoihunger@gmail.com
- Social Media: #LionsServe #RelievingHunger #LionsHungerWeek
- Contact your District Governor or District Coordinator
Together, we are the roar against hunger. Will you answer the call?
“When we feed one person, we nourish humanity. When Lions unite, hunger doesn’t stand a chance.”