In a few hours, I will have my first "normal" meal in five days. My family and I drastically reduced both the variety and quantity of our diet as we participated in Celebration of Hope, an annual event at our church.

Part of this month-long focus on the poor includes a modified fast. The purpose of this "Five Day Food and Water Challenge" is to identify with the poor, who eat this way all the time. We also take the money we would have spent on food this week and donate it to purchase vegetable seeds, which we send to Zimbabwe. Another part of Celebration of Hope is to pack the seeds—our church packed 500,000 seed packs! During this week, we prayed for the hungry, and got just a little glimpse into the reality they live for a lifetime, not just a few days.

The diet we consumed this week (mostly rice and beans) is similar to what many people in the developing world eat—although I think my serving sizes were likely more generous than what they receive. Many children around the globe ...