51 posts from August 2012

Bread for the World members headed to Capitol Hill on Tuesday June 14, 2011, to lobby their members of Congress on behalf of poor and hungry people.

Lobby Day was part of the Bread for the World's 2011 Gathering—with nearly 300 people from around the United States converging on Washington, DC, to learn how to advocate against hunger and poverty. (Photo by Laura Elizabeth Pohl/Bread for the World)

The relative silence of candidates and their campaigns on the moral imperative to resist and overcome poverty is both ominous and disheartening.

Despite unacceptable levels of poverty, few candidates and elected officials speak about pervasive poverty or offer a path to overcome it.

We need to hear from those who seek to lead this country about what specific steps they would take to lift people out of poverty.

—Bishop Stephen Blaire 

Help raise issues of hunger and poverty during the 2012 elections: check out our resources at www.bread.org/elections.

Bishop Stephen Blaire chairs the committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Haitians build a USAID-funded irrigation canal. A rice field is at right. From the Bread for the World Institute 2011 Hunger Report. (Photo courtesy USAID)

In a New York Times opinion piece yesterday, Rev. David Beckmann wrote about how our fate is tied to poor people around the world. He describes why Americans should care about U.S. foreign assistance and why it's a great return on investment. You can read the full story below.

Our Fate Is Linked to Helping Others

by Rev. David Beckmann

This is not the time to cut back on international development assistance. For every dollar our government spends, only less than one cent (0.6 cents) is spent on foreign aid. The return on our small foreign aid investment can be measured in the millions of people we are helping throughout the world, and in our country’s economic well-being and national security.

Lloyd Schmeidler of Durham, NC, prays during the opening worship at Bread for the World's Lobby Day in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, June 12, 2012. (Photo by Rick Reinhard/Bread for the World)

by Amy Oden

Christians talk a lot about hospitality, about welcoming the stranger in our churches and communities. Yet, in our personal lives we continue to label, categorize, and dismiss the “political stranger"—people who express political views different from our own.

I challenge Christians during this election season to welcome the political stranger, people we often know well (co-workers, family members, neighbors) who seem like strangers to us—alien, confusing, unfathomable. We may wonder, “What kind of person would vote that way? How can they hold that position?” 

(Photo by Flickr user Natural Step Online)

by Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy

What do mega church pastors like John Ortberg (Menlo Park Presbyterian), Bill Hybels (Willow Creek Church), and Craig Groeschel (LifeChurch.tv) have in common with leadership experts like  Jim Collins (author of "Good to Great"), William Ury (author of "Getting to Yes"), Geoffrey Canada (author of "Waiting for Superman"), and Gary Haugen (president of the International Justice Mission)? 

Each has a relentless commitment to creating highly effective, powerful organizations that transform our world. 

The Guatemalan Alliance to End Hunger works with the Ministry of Public Health to distribute a fortified drink mix to families at risk of malnutrition. (Photo courtesy the Alliance to End Hunger)

One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others.

— Lewis Carroll

Maryland activists participate in Bread for the World's 2011 Lobby Day. (Photo by Jim Stipe/Bread for the World)

1. Develop an “elevator speech” for why ending hunger is important to you as a Christian.
2. Register to vote.
3. Write a letter to your local paper saying that ending hunger is a priority for you as a voter.
4. Learn what the candidates are saying about ending hunger.
5. Speak about the importance of ending hunger at candidates’ town hall meetings.
6. Engage your friends. Make sure they are registered and know what the candidates are saying about ending hunger.
7. Magnify your voice by combining it with those of thousands of other Christians. Become a member of Bread for the World; organize an Offering of Letters.
8. Engage your church.
9. Give money and volunteer time to candidates who are committed to ending hunger.
10. VOTE for candidates who are committed to ending hunger.

During the August recess, as we lead up to the lame duck session, Bread members are setting up meetings with members of Congress and their staff at local offices to make sure that hunger issues are part of the campaign conversations. 

Contact your Organizer who can help you set up a meeting or find a town hall or just check out our elections resources and keep ending hunger a priority and part of the conversation.

(Photo courtesy the Agricultural Research Service/USDA)

by Eric Bond

“A rose is a rose is a rose,” wrote Gertrude Stein, reflecting on the simple essence of most things. While her words evoke a basic, straightforward view of the world, they fail to account for some important distinctions.

For example, can we say that a peach is a peach is a peach—when one is freshly picked, another is canned in syrup, and yet another is mashed into a fruit bar and loaded with nonfruit fillers? These definitions of peachiness are at the heart of one of the provisions of the farm bill slated for renewal by September 30.

(Photo by Margaret W. Nea)

by Keaton Andreas.

It is critical that we raise our collective voice on behalf of poor and hungry people as Congress debates funding for anti-poverty programs, which is exactly what a Bread for the World Covenant Church did this past Saturday.

Hunger was the topic of discussion this weekend at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Warr Acres, Okla. The Covenant Church hosted the forum “Fighting Hunger in Oklahoma.”

Oklahoma is the fifth hungriest state in the United States, with 47,871 families living in extreme poverty (less than $11,057 a year for a family of four) and a poverty rate for children under five of nearly 28 percent.

Fabric for sale at a Tanzania marketplace. (Racine Tucker-Hamilton/Bread for the World)

by Rev. David Beckmann

Great news for African development today! Bread for the World applauds members of Congress for their support for the renewal of the Third Country Fabric provision of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). AGOA seeks to increase mutually beneficial trade ties between the United States and Africa and promises to lift millions of Africans out of poverty.   

Several months ago, African ambassadors met with the chairs and ranking members of the Congressional subcommittees on Africa to discuss the urgency of renewing this provision. It has come at a critical time, as declines in apparel orders (due to the uncertainty of this provision’s renewal) were already leading to job losses in several African countries.  

While you have to wait until November to cast your ballot in the U.S. presidential election, Bread members have a chance to vote now for their representatives on the Bread for the World board of directors.

And unlike in national elections, in which voters are often subjected to divisive, winner-take-all politics, voting for members of Bread’s board is a harmonious action. This multidenominational, bipartisan group of Bread candidates is united in its mission to eliminate hunger—just like you are.

Each year, one-third of our board members are chosen by the entire Bread for the World membership. This year, 14 candidates have put their names forward to represent Bread. Choices range from a former U.S. Presidential candidate to a founder of a food bank. Each of these individuals has already done much to end hunger, and each brings specific insight, skills, and connections to the table. Bread members can vote for seven of them.