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Operation Rice Bowl begins Feb. 17, Ash Wednesday.

Catholic Relief Services will kick off their annual global hunger awareness program Feb. 17, the same day Catholics begin their spiritual journey during the season of Lent.

Some 12,000 communities take part in Operation Rice Bowl, which gets its name from the symbolic rice bowl that’s utilized as the focal point.

The program also calls to mind almsgiving, one of the three traditional Lenten disciplines. The other two are prayer and fasting.

By fasting, Catholics can also remember the world’s hungry during Lent. This discipline helps us be in solidarity with those who are hungry without choice.

“Although in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti much of our focus is on the desperate needs there, we cannot forget that every day thousands of children around the world die from hunger and its consequences,” said Beth Martin, program manager for Operation Rice Bowl, in a CRS press release.

“It is because of programs like ORB and our ongoing support for long-term development that we are able to respond swiftly in emergencies like Haiti,” she said.

Operation Rice Bowl details 40 ways to learn about, pray for and help those who don’t have enough to eat.

“Participants make the small sacrifice of preparing simple, meatless recipes each week and putting the money they otherwise would have spent on a big meal into symbolic rice bowls,” according to the recent press release. The money helps CRS fight global hunger and poverty.

“Through Operation Rice Bowl, we read personal stories of people who have been able to improve their lives with CRS’ help,” Martin said. “Women receive small loans to start their own businesses; farmers receive training and communities install wells that bring clean water to families.”

Operation Rice Bowl brings in about $6 million each year. About 75 percent of that funds hunger and poverty projects in 40 countries. The remaining 25 percent supports food pantries and soup kitchens in the United States.