131 posts categorized "Organizing"

The first presidential candidate debate will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, October 3, at 9 p.m. ET, and will focus on domestic policy. The debate provides an opportunity to put domestic hunger and poverty in the spotlight, and social media can be used to drive the conversation. Fifteen percent of Americans—including one in five children—lived in poverty in 2011.  It is critical that our political leaders address the most vulnerable members of our population, and with enough grassroots urging, they will.

At Bread for the World, we have created a debate Bingo Game, which can be downloaded and printed out. Each bingo card square contains a word or phrase associated with an issue that Bread members care about: "farm bill," "SNAP/food stamps," and "Earned Income Tax Credit," for example. As you watch the debates with friends and family, mark off a square every time either President Barack Obama or Governor Mitt Romney uses one of the words.  Use the game as a tool to track how the candidates are addressing programs and policies most vital to poor and hungry people. 

Do you have a question you'd like debate moderator Jim Lehrer of NewsHour to pose to the candidates? Tweet it to @newshour and use the hashtag #talkpoverty.  Here are a couple of sample tweets:

My Presidential debate question @NewsHour: Will you support extending tax credits for working families? http://ow.ly/e4zj0 #talkpoverty

or

.@NewsHour Ask Candidates: Will you protect SNAP (food stamps), the most direct way to reduce hunger? #talkpoverty http://ow.ly/e9FVu

You can also create tweets using the facts on our Offering of Letters web pages on tax credits and domestic nutrition.  If you are holding a debate house party, playing Bingo, or tweeting, take photos of the action and post them to your Facebook page or tweet it. Be sure to tag us!

Poor people cannot be forgotten during this election season, and it will take a loud chorus of anti-hunger voices to make sure the issues of hunger and poverty receive attention.

Photo: Flickr user _kaway_ via Flickr Creative Commons

October is a busy month for people who care about ending hunger and poverty. With the elections just a little over a month away, the biggest issues facing our nation are being debated on the public stage. We need to make sure that hunger and poverty are part of the discussion.

While Bread for the World can lead the way by providing you with election resources, when it comes down to it, your voice is the one that must be heard and that will make a difference for hungry and poor people. A Bread member once wrote a line that has been driving me all year long: "Silence is approval."

So what are our priorities? Right now, we want to use the upcoming presidential and vice-presidential debates as opportunities to make sure that hunger and poverty are part of the national dialogue. The first presidential debate will take place on Wednesday, October 3. It will be moderated by Jim Lehrer of PBS Newshour and will focus on domestic policy.

Continue to share the Circle of Protection presidential videos and talk about the candidates' statements. Hold a house meeting, inviting family, friends, co-workers, and members of your church congregation to watch the debates and engage in a discussion of the issues. Talk about what the candidates are saying, but also share stories of poverty in your community and discuss how, as people of faith, you are compelled to act.

For more guidance in pulling together a house meeting, check out the "How to Host a House Meeting" resource on our elections page.

If you and your group are social media-savvy, amplify your house meeting on Twitter. Some of our partners, led by the Half In Ten campaign, are starting a wave of poverty talk through social media channels, submitting debate questions by tagging @newshour and using the hashtag #talkpoverty.

Elections matter and as people of faith we must lead the way in making sure people who are poor and hungry are part of the conversation during campaign season. But, while elections and the debates are the center of attention in October, it is also crucial that we remain focused on the lame duck session.

During the lame duck—the period between the November elections and January 2013, when newly-elected officials come to Washington—Congress will be making decisions about programs that are critical to people struggling to put food on the table, both in the United States and abroad.

As Amelia Kegan, senior policy analyst in our government relations department keeps reminding us, “The framework for the budget is being decided now; waiting until after the elections is too late.” We must let members of Congress know that it is essential to form a circle of protection around programs for the poor and hungry. Even if you have already written, tweeted ,or called your member of Congress, do it again. 

Debate schedule for October:

October 3 , 9:00 – 10:30 EST (Presidential – Domestic Policy)
October 11,  9:00 – 10:30 EST (VP – domestic & foreign)
October 16, 9:00 – 10:30 EST (Presidential – Town Hall format)
October 22, 9:00 – 10:30 EST (Presidential – foreign policy)

Robin Stephenson is social media lead/senior regional organizer, western hub.

The Twin Cities Bread team meets with Rep. Erik Paulsen last month. Pictured: (front row, l to r) Audrey Johnson, Ed Payne, Brad Pepin; (back row, l to r): Gerry Peterson, Dick Johnson, Rep. Paulsen, Judy Waeschle, Carol Dubay, Lois Troemel. (Photo courtesy of Twin Cities Bread team)

By Robin Stephenson

It is critical for lawmakers to hear from their constituents as we head into a lame duck session, during which members of Congress will make choices about programs for hungry and poor people. Bread teams know that a personal visit is the most influential type of contact with a member of Congress, so our activists across the nation have been setting up local meetings.

In Minneapolis, the Twin Cities' Metro Area Team used the fall recess as an opportunity for in-district meetings with Rep. Erik Paulsen and Rep. Betty McCollum. In a recap of their meeting with Rep. Eric Paulsen’s office, the team outlined its approach:

“Our district coordinator, Carol Dubay, arranged the meeting for September 5 and contacted each of us to meet a few minutes ahead of time in order to plan what we would emphasize. Of course, we framed our discussion in terms of the Circle of Protection for the poorest among us. But since the Congressman is on the committee that makes decisions on taxation, we emphasized the need to maintain the benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit programs.”

[Read more of the recap on the Twin Cities' Metro Area Team's website.]

The team that met with Rep. McCollum’s office included three young hunger activists:

“Fourteen people, including three preteens, visited the local office of Minnesota representative Betty McCollum during the August recess.  They urged her to continue nudging her House colleagues to remember those they represent who are people living with poverty and hunger. 

"The young people explained their concern using a visual they had made showing how little of the federal budget goes to help people in need.  The group urged Rep. McCollum to remember to keep the 'circle of protection' around specific programs which provide the most effective help to those with less means than most of us but who are may be members of her constituency and are certainly all God’s children.  The meeting with the legislative director, Peter Frosch, was one filled with issues, listening, personal stories, encouragement from all sides, and a sense of being of one mind about the needs and some of the solutions. 

"Fourteen people went home feeling empowered and willing to visit this office and the offices of senators again.”

If you would like to set up a local meeting like ones the Twin Cities Metro Team arranged, contact your regional organizer. After your meeting, please let us know about it.

Robin Stephenson is Bread for the World's social media lead and senior regional organizer, western hub.

In July, with the Circle of Protection partners, Bread for the World urged Barack Obama and Mitt Romney to answer one question: what about hungry and poor people? Last week, their video responses were released. Now it's time to ask the same question of our members of Congress and others running for office during this election season.

The U.S. Census Bureau released its most recent poverty figures last week, and one thing was clear: the safety net is critical during these tough economic times. The official Census Bureau poverty numbers do not account for programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which help dramatically reduce poverty. If the data accounted for SNAP, it would show that 3.9 million fewer people would have been in poverty in 2011, and if it accounted for the EITC, then 5.7 million fewer people would have been in poverty, including 3.1 million children.

During the lame duck session of Congress our elected officials will be making tough choices about the budget. They can choose to protect programs vital to poor and hungry people or they can choose to drastically cut funding to those programs that have kept food on millions of tables as so many Americans struggle to find adequate employment. They can choose to cut poverty-focused foreign assistance, which would cost lives, or save lives abroad with an investment of less than one percent of the federal budget. We can influence the right choices. We must maintain the integrity of SNAP, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), tax credits for low-income families, funding for food aid, and poverty focused development aid. 

Please join Bread’s expert organizing and policy staff on Tuesday, September 18, as we discuss why this year’s elections are so important and talk about our different tools for engaging your elected officials.

Register now for one of two conference calls, at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET (adjust for your time zone). Check Bread's event calendar for more information.

By Dr. Alice Walker Duff

Bread for the World Sunday is one of the primary ways we engage congregations in our work to end hunger.  Through education, prayer, and worship, congregations commit themselves to the fight against hunger. Bread supports these congregations by providing free supplies, in Spanish and English, including a resource kit—with sermon starters, a litany and prayers, bulletin inserts, and offering envelopes. 

Please consider sharing these resources with your pastor and church. The official date for Bread for the World Sunday is October 21, but many churches choose to celebrate on another Sunday in the fall.  I hope you will plan now to get your church involved in this event.

I will introduce Bread for the World through Bread for the World Sunday to my Los Angeles and New York home churches.

 If your church is already participating and active, thank you!

Many churches only hold a Bread for the World Sunday service, but others go on to make an Offering of Letters, become Covenant Churches, keep the congregation informed about issues and pending legislation, and some become the homes of many strong activists. I pray that all the churches with which my family members worship will “go all the way” and become active Covenant Churches.

I am taking the first step this year with Bread for the World Sunday won’t you join me?

 Resources can be downloaded from the Bread website or ordered from our online store.

Dr. Alice Walker Duff, is Bread for the World’s managing director.

Photo: Bread for the World's 2011 Gathering at American University on Sunday, June 12, 2011. (Photo by Rick Reinhard)

(image courtesy Urban Ministries of Durham)

by Robin Stephenson

Simulating poverty does not give one the lived experience of poverty, but it can begin to expose the truth about choices—or lack thereof—that people working low-wage jobs face every day.

We are called to compassion—meaning to suffer together, but it can be hard to make a compassionate connection when paths don't cross. So when I’m invited to speak to church groups, I  emphasize personal stories, knowing that statistics don’t always engender compassion and solidarity.

A few years ago I gained greater compassion and  insight into the realities of poverty when I participated in an elaborate simulation. Even though it was imaginary, the activity made me stop and think about poverty as a time consuming and complicated condition.

by Eric Bond

On Monday, New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman wrote a tribute to the farmer—and the joy to be had from fresh produce. He points out that as much as chefs are in the spotlight these days, the bulk of the hard work and artistry in a meal happens on the farm:

These are tasks that take weeks, if not months, of daily activity and maintenance. Like anything else, you can get good at it, but the challenges that nature ... and the market ... throw at you are never even close to being under control in the same way that a cook controls the kitchen.

As Bittman revels in the fruits of labor coming to farmers markets in the waning days of summer, he recognizes the reality that many people do not have the access or the finances to enjoy the pleasures of fresh produce. Bittman calls for the following actions, which will better support small farmers, feed more hungry people, and share the bounty of a functioning farm system:

Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) meets with Bread for the World activist Margaret Edmondson of Idaho during Bread for the World's Lobby Day in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, June 12, 2012. (Photo by Rick Reinhard for Bread for the World)

By Robin Stephenson

In order to accommodate as many activists as possible, we have added an additional time for our Grassroots Conference Call (and Webinar) tomorrow, Aug. 21. Now you can call in at 4 p.m. Eastern Time (that is 1 p.m. Pacific Time for the West Coast) or at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (5 p.m. Pacific Time).  Register now for the slot that best fits your schedule!

The monthly call is a great way to get the most recent update on the Offering of Letters, ask questions of our expert policy analysts from our government relations department and hear from your dedicated organizing staff and Bread members.  

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?”