Did you know that over 600,000 people in Japan struggle daily for adequate food?

Rice may be the food of choice and tradition in Japan, but with prices more than double that on the international market it is an expensive staple; one that many of the country’s neediest cannot afford.

According to Second Harvest, a non-profit organization in Tokyo, 650,000 people in Japan lack ‘food security’, described as the access to safe, nutritious food through socially acceptable channels.

This may seem surprising in a city, where luxury is the order of the day and where there is little evidence of poverty. But the number of homeless in Japan is on the rise; recent estimates suggests a figure of 45,000, and the number of working poor (earning less than a million yen per year) adds a further 4 million people. 

The rice drive ran from March 1-May 31 to boost the stocks of Second Harvest who will then deliver supplies to people in orphanages, the elderly, the homeless, and emergency shelters.  With an average consumption of 60kg per person annually, rice is always in demand.

You can contribute by purchasing coupons, for as little as 500 yen, which will then be redeemed as needed for rice at specific collection points by people who are literally living on the ‘rice line’.

The Charities Committee of the Women's Group asks for your help and thanks you for supporting this worthy cause by contributing to the purchase of rice coupons.

Each coupon costs 500yen, one cup of coffee..... but each coupon could make such a huge difference in easing someone's life.