One of Rissho Kosei-kai's peace activities that continues to attract wide support is the Donate-a-Meal Movement, which was officially inaugurated in 1974. Rissho Kosei-kai members who participate in the movement forgo a meal per day on the first and fifteenth of every month and contribute the money saved to the Rissho Kosei-kai Donate-a-Meal Fund for Peace through their local churches. In Buddhism, making such a donation is an important religious activity and is regarded as an example of bodhisattva practice, the practice of those seeking to achieve buddhahood.

When taking part in this movement, members feel sympathy for people who have suffered from hunger and give thought to the some 1.2 billion people, nearly one-fifth of the global population, who must live on the equivalent of one U.S. dollar or less per day. They pray that the money they have donated will be utilized for world peace as well as for the basic needs of the many people everywhere who suffer the effects of poverty.

A report issued by the Donate-a-Meal Fund for Peace in March 2001 revealed that the amount collected through the movement in over two decades totaled more than 8 billion Japanese yen. This has been utilized to support 1,170 projects in Japan and abroad connected with, among others, disarmament, development, human rights, the plight of refugees, environmental protection, disaster relief, preventive diplomacy, and human resource development. The memorable first step in the history of the movement was the contribution toward the construction of the Friendship Tower in the Philippines in 1975.

The projects supported are broken down into three categories: Rissho Kosei-kai's independent projects, joint projects with nongovernmental organizations, and financial assistance for relief activities, as well as exceptional emergency relief projects.