Children's Hunger Fund
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| Founded | 1991 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Dave Phillips |
| Type | Nonprofit/Faith-Based |
| Focus | Compassion ministry |
| Location |
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Area served
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Domestic and International |
| Method | In-home food delivery |
| Website | ChildrensHungerFund.org |
Children's Hunger Fund (CHF) is a Christian non-profit organization that resources and empowers local churches in the United States and around the world to meet the needs of their impoverished community members. CHF's mission is to "deliver hope to suffering children by equipping local churches for gospel-centered mercy ministry".
CHF's ministry approach to families and support of local churches is summed up in the acronym F.A.C.E.: Feed, Aid, Connect, and Equip. By providing food and aid to domestic and international churches, CHF connects them to families in their community. CHF equips these churches through training and education.
CHF developed the Food Pak program as a method of delivering food into the homes of families in need. Food Paks, which can hold up to 20 pounds of non-perishable food and feed a family of four for up to a week, are packaged and prepared by volunteers in CHF distribution centers. Food Paks are later picked up by local churches, or shipped to international churches via sea containers. When the churches receive these boxes of food, they deliver them to families in their community. CHF calls this method of distribution Relational Mercy Ministry.
As of 2013, CHF had distributed more than $1 billion in aid to children and families in need.
Dave Phillips, founder and president, began the ministry in 1991, working out of his garage with only one employee. They served eight churches composed of 200–300 families.
In response to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, CHF increased its food distribution program in South Central Los Angeles. When the 1994 Northridge earthquake struck the San Fernando Valley, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) asked Children's Hunger Fund to participate in relief efforts.
CHF launched the Care Package program in 1998. For the first time, food was packed into cardboard boxes designed to assist a family in need. CHF’s desire was to encourage a more relational approach to helping the poor. Volunteers were trained to take the food to struggling families, visiting them in their own home, and establishing an ongoing, caring relationship through repeated home deliveries. What was then known as a Care Package is now called a "Food Pak", CHF's relationship-building tool, used to minister to children and families.
In 2004, CHF began a partnership with Africa Renewal Ministries in Uganda, to form the first Mercy Network. A Mercy Network is a collection of like-minded churches that are pursuing gospel-centered Relational Mercy Ministry. CHF began resourcing churches in Uganda with Food Paks, and financial support to build homes for Bethany Village orphanage.
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