Hope Through Faith, Community, and Support

This Lent, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) invites communities across the United States to journey alongside Ana Belén, a mother of four whose powerful story of perseverance and hope is featured in Week 3 of the 2025 CRS Rice Bowl Stories of Hope.

When Ana’s husband lost his job during the pandemic, their family’s already precarious situation worsened. With food prices rising and crops damaged by unpredictable weather, Ana struggled to feed her children. “Sometimes I would cry because I didn’t have anything to give my children,” she said.

Thanks to a CRS program aimed at ending hunger in vulnerable regions, Ana now receives nutritious food every two weeks—corn, beans, rice, vegetable oil, and eggs—distributed through her children’s school. The program also offers monthly health check-ups, ensuring that children like Francisco, Ana’s eldest, are thriving once again.

“I don’t want to see my children suffering from hunger. Thank God this project came along.” —Ana Belén

This story highlights the life-changing impact that Lenten almsgiving can have on families across the globe.

This Lent, Catholics are encouraged to participate in the three pillars of the season: almsgiving, fasting, and prayer.

• Give to support CRS Rice Bowl programs that combat hunger and poverty worldwide.

• Fast in solidarity with those who experience daily hunger.

• Pray for vulnerable families like Ana’s, and for a world where all are fed and cared for.

CRS Rice Bowl is the Lenten program of Catholic Relief Services, inviting U.S. Catholics to live in solidarity with our sisters and brothers around the world through simple, sacrificial meals and powerful stories of hope.

To read Ana’s full story and access parish and school resources for CRS Rice Bowl, visit:
👉 www.crsricebowl.org/stories-of-hope/week-3

Together, we can make a difference—one bowl at a time.

For more creative ideas on how to move during this Lenten journey, visit CRS Ricebowl website.