A church in Morrisania is helping to raise awareness about poverty.

Congregants and religious leaders gathered at Caldwell Temple to pray for the poor, hungry and food insecure.

The event featured a candlelight vigil and an open soup kitchen.

The prayer and demonstration were organized by PATHHSEO, a program which aims to eradicate hunger and food insecurity through service, education and outreach.

Organizers say the event served as a call to action to elected officials, the NYPD and others to help  eradicate the problem of poverty.

They say they have been feeding the hungry at least once a week for year and have noticed the problem getting worse.

Alhough PATHHSEO has existed for almost 10 years providing services to the community, it says it's the first event like this and it plans to continue to raise awareness for this issue.