The three friends began munching on the first course of their dinner together. After pulling crackers, reading silly jokes and donning the little paper hats, a new conversation topic sparked up.

‘This starter is so nice! And the menu said it is made with locally grown vegetables too – very tasty!’ Mike said. ‘In so many parts of the world, it is really difficult to grow crops due to the temperatures, lack of rainfall and the mountains getting in the way.’

‘That’s right, I remember a flight I did in Guinea in West Africa,’ said Alpha the giraffe. ‘It’s a place where local people can barely grow enough food to eat, and when bad things happen like bush fires, they lose all their crops.’

‘Who were your passengers, Alpha?’ said Foxtrot curiously.

‘They were from America, and they came to start agricultural projects, which means helping communities with their farming methods and crop growing. On the new farm they are running, the men of the area will mostly be growing cashew nuts which they’ll sell to make money for their families. They will be teaching the women about the importance of good nutrition, which will benefit their children too.’

‘Five a day keep the doctor away!’ said Foxtrot cheekily.

‘In fact, they did bring with them fruit trees for the village to grow – ones that have never been grown there before, so that the people can start eating the new fruit they produce,’ Alpha added. ‘It’s important to take care of what we eat, as we are all made by God, and the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians that our bodies are ‘temples of the Holy Spirit’ – so we should make it the best temple it can be by eating our fruit and vegetables!’ said Mike.