Because it has been going on for so long, no one could say for sure how long the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Club at Bishop Dwenger High School has been offering the Lenten Rice Bowl lunch option for students, but everyone agrees that it has been many years. It was in Lent of 1975 that the CRS Ri ce Bowl program began. A small cardboard box created by CRS leaders was and continues to be sent to millions of Catholics across the United States each year. Participants put money in the box throughout Lent to support families experiencing hunger around the world. According to crsricebowl.org, donations help to provide lifesaving support to more than 200 million people in more than 120 countries, with 25 percent of the money collected staying in the local community. Photos by Nicole HahnElizabeth Hill and Hannah Thurber work the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Club Rice Bowl lunch table at Bishop Dwenger High School on Friday, March 21. To help with the program each year, students in the Bishop Dwenger CRS Club offer a small bowl of rice for a free will donation to the Rice Bowl program every Friday during Lent. Katie Keefer, who was working the table on Friday, March 21, explained the importance. “CRS helps so many people and does so many good things,” Keefer said. “I do this because I also want to help people, and I think it’s good to join in solidarity with other nations.” “It’s about solidarity with our poorest brothers and sisters,” said Andrea Hill, a teacher at Bishop Dwenger and the director of the CRS Club, about the Rice Bowl lunch offering. “Not only are we sacrificing our lunch, just eating rice, but we are bringing awareness that this is how some people live every day. They are in search of some kind of food.” Hannah Thurber scoops out a bowl of rice for Collin McVey as Katherine Keefer looks on while working the CRS Club Rice Bowl lunch table at Bishop Dwenger. Dozens of Dwenger students chose the Rice Bowl lunch option during the three lunch periods on March 21. Rebecca Gillett, a student at Bishop Dwenger who chose the rice option, said it is about more than lunch. “I think it is vital that those in need are supported in this time of sacrifice,” Gillett said. “I think it is good for us to just eat something simple and be reminded that the Lord should be our focus in this time of Lent.” The Rice Bowl lunch offering is just one of many projects the CRS Club hosts each year. Hill said having a social justice component at the school is important. “It is not just the theological aspects of it, but being of service to our community,” Hill said. “There is also global awareness in making our students aware that there is more outside the school, outside of Fort Wayne – that there are people in need all around the world.” Katherine Keefer hands Rebecca Gillett a bowl of rice as Hannah Thurber looks on while working the CRS Club Rice Bowl lunch table at Bishop Dwenger. The post Dwenger Students Take Rice Bowl to Another Level appeared first on Today's Catholic. ...read more read less