If you're sick of hearing about that other bucket-based fundraiser that's been all the rage this summer, here's a slightly different cause that you can support: Donate a bucket of rice to a hungry person or family.
That's the goal of the Rice Bucket Challenge, a concept developed by a 38-year-old Indian woman who works for the rice research website Oryza.com. The concept is catching on in South Asia with people posting their donation photos on Facebook and challenging friends to do the same. The program aims to help feed the hungry and to raise awareness about hunger issues.
And best of all, there's no wasted water–an especially important consideration during World Water Week.
Right now the Rice Bucket Challenge is only happening in Asia, but there's no reason we can't bring it to the U.S. We have plenty of hungry people, according to the Household Food Security in the United States report released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. According to the report, 14.3 percent of U.S. households–or 17.5 million homes–experienced food insecurity (lack of access to enough food to live a healthy lifestyle) at some point during 2013. Nearly 7 million households experienced severe food insecurity during the year, and in 3.8 million homes, families were unable to provide enough nutrition for their children.
Hunger is a serious–and at times invisible–concern everywhere in our world. But there are solutions, and they can be as simple as handing someone a bucket of rice. Just don't dump any on the ground.
Flickr image cc by Jodimichelle
