The very first Family Fast Day was held 57 years ago, on Friday 11 March 1960, when volunteer members of the National Board of Catholic Women raised funds for a Dominica mother and baby clinic.

selected seeds ready for planting
This year’s Harvest Fast Day is on Friday 6 October, and focuses on the work our partners are doing in El Salvador. Use our Fast Day resources to let everyone in your parish know it is Harvest Fast Day, and invite them to get involved through fundraising and praying.
Edelmira and Martir are farmers in El Salvador. As they live on and depend on their land, the harvest they reap is vital if they are to have food to put on the table, and have enough left over to sell. The money they earn from this harvest is then used to buy clothes, medicine and other essential items.
CAFOD, working in partnership with Solidaridad CVX, work with farmers like Edelmira and Martir to provide training and reintroduce native seeds used generations ago. These indigenous seeds are strong and fertile having evolved in this region over millennia to be able to grow well in the warm, rainy climate, This ensures that the farmers will be able to harvest crops, and become confident that they will provide their families both with food and a modest income.
To enable our partners to work with more farmers like Edelmira and Martir, across the world, please do use the CAFOD resources and invite your parish to get involved this Harvest Fast Day.