An annual event occurring during the season of Lent at Totino-Grace is the 24-hour fast. This is an optional event that students can partake in in hope of raising awareness of the hunger issues that face the world today, as well as growing closer in relationship to God by recognizing Jesus’ fasting experiences in the desert. The fast started on Wednesday at 2:15pm and ended on Thursday at 2:15pm.

Fasting is important in the Catholic faith and for people to experience at a younger age, “Fasting is important because you hear about hunger issues in the community and the world all the time but it is not until you experience the pain of an empty stomach that you realize a lot of people in the world are experiencing those pains everyday. You don’t realize the energy that is drained because you have not eaten, you feel weak, and you realize it is more difficult to be productive throughout the day when you are missing the essential thing everyone should have, which is food,” Mr. Million shares.

Junior Erin Poepping was one of the students participating the fasting event, “It was one of the hardest things I have done. But every time I thought about food, I would think, ‘this is what people who don’t have food available to them 24/7 feel like.’ It made me realize how fortunate we actually are for all the food we have.”

The annual event was successful in the mission to promote the awareness of hunger throughout the world, and to bring a new perspective to the participating students.