Protect Food Stamps from Congress

Only the current Congress would allow cuts to critical anti-hunger programs, taking food away from parents struggling in this economy to put food on the table for their kids. Last Friday—on the first day of a month in which we celebrate bounty with a national feast—all families receiving SNAP (formerly food stamps) saw their benefits cut. The average family of four lost up to $36 a month.

This $11 billion cut over four years equals nearly 10 million meals each day. That's 80 million meals eliminated since the SNAP cut went into effect last Friday! This is as if nearly all of the residents of the states of California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Colorado did not eat for a day. And some in Congress are pushing for far more extreme cuts to SNAP.

Please email your representatives and senators and tell them that this is unacceptable.

As we move toward Thanksgiving and Christmas and prepare to gather with friends and family around big meals and parties with lots of food, we know you will be making many trips to the grocery store. We encourage you to use your trips to the store as an occasion to give thanks to God for our bounty and as a reminder to take action on behalf of those who have experienced SNAP cuts. We invite you to say this prayer every time you visit the grocery store this season: God, empower us and our leaders to fill the hungry with good things.

In the coming weeks, as the number of eliminated meals from SNAP cuts grows, we will call upon you to continue saying this prayer as you buy food and share this message with your members of Congress.

Right now, Congress is debating whether to allow cuts to nutrition assistance for low-income women and children to continue under sequestration. Already, struggling seniors have had to go without 4 million meals because of cuts to the Meals on Wheels program, and if sequestration continues, another 4 million meals could be cut.

We can make a difference this fall, but there’s not much time. Congress has just a few weeks to reverse the harmful cuts put in place by sequestration and to pass a farm bill. And these cuts threaten so much more—funding for international emergency food aid, poverty-focused foreign assistance, nutrition assistance for struggling seniors and pregnant women, and Head Start for low-income children.

Living Their Faith - update from OFRAH, Oregon Faith Roundtable Against Hunger

"But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”  Luke 14: 13-14

The headline in today’s Oregonian tells the story “From hungry to even hungrier: Cuts to food stamp allotments mean those used to doing without will have to learn to do with even less”

The example of Bob and Janet Raes Bread for the World members and Oregon Faith Roundtable Against Hunger Conveners gives us hope.

Many Bread members have introduced their churches to JustFaith, an adult education program that explores the biblical prescription to heal our broken world and foster congregational and individual wholeness. The 24 weekly sessions are carefully planned for faith sharing that includes prayer, study, and immersion, and deepens the participants' understanding of the biblical basis for advocacy.

The Raes facilitated the program at West Linn Lutheran in Oregon and saw how it transformed lives.

The immersion part of the program helps break down invisible barriers that hide suffering in the world. Bob and Janet recalled how simply listening to a homeless couple’s experience opened up a new world to their group. The homeless couple told a story of selling bracelets on the sidewalk with their dog and feeling that they weren't treated with dignity. A passerby offered them money to feed their dog, but ignored them as people. The message to the couple was that the dog deserved compassion, but they did not.

"Our groups said 'we are going to really see people,'" said Janet. "Some ride the bus now and that has just changed them."  Their congregation sponsored 3 months of rent to transition a homeless family into stable housing, and spent the time to help them move in and listen to their goals. Bob and Janet know that compassion is relational.

Through JustFaith, participants learn about both charity and advocacy—the latter is often harder for churches to embrace. "People are so allergic to the word 'advocate'—instead of advocating we say we are 'seeking justice,'" said Bob. JustFaith has helped their church to take a deeper look at the root causes of hunger and write letters as part of Bread for the World’s yearly Offering of Letters campaign, which asks Congress to create programs and policies that end hunger and poverty.

Even though participants in JustFaith are a small subset of any congregation, as other parishioners see the group transform it leads to changes in the church. “It’s an invasive species,” said Janet, with a smile. 

One Thing You Can Do
In August Bob and Janet Raes, and others from the OFRAH and faith-based anti-hunger communities, met with Congressman Kurt Schrader’s office to advocate against any cuts to the food stamp program. Among their many activities, the Raes volunteer in a food pantry three times a week and shared many real-life examples, underscoring the fact that reductions in anti-hunger programs are not abstract. Real families suffer from real cuts to food stamps.

Reprinted from Bread for the World’s http://blog.bread.org. Written by Robin Stephenson, National Lead Social Media / Senior Regional Organizer at Bread for the World, and Portland Metro OFRAH Convener

Coming months bring busy Congressional agenda for hunger and poverty issues

The Oct. 16 budget deal in Congress re-opened the government and raised the debt ceiling for a few months longer. This deal and new deadlines have set off an intense period in which Bread for the World will have to work extremely hard to protect funding for programs that address hunger and help people move out of poverty in the U.S. and around the world.

From now through January, Bread for the World’s primary focus will be on three legislative priorities:

1. Protecting SNAP and international food-aid reform during the final negotiations on the farm bill
2. Advocating for a 2014 budget agreement that ends the sequester and provides revenues
3. Advancing comprehensive immigration reform

Last week, some parts of this busy fall and winter legislative agenda got underway. Congress' budget conference committee held an organizing meeting and its first public meeting, and the farm bill conference committee held its first public meeting. Meanwhile, on Nov. 1, $11 billion in food stamp (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) cuts went into effect.

November 2013

• 13: Budget conference committee holds its second public meeting
• 25: Bread for the World Institute releases its 2014 Hunger Report: Ending Hunger in America

December 2013

• 13: Deadline for the budget conference committee to reach an agreement

January 2014

• 1: Certain effects of expired farm bill begin (milk prices, etc.)
• 15: Continuing resolution for federal budget expires. Congress must pass a spending bill to prevent another government shutdown.

February 2014

• 7: Debt-ceiling extension expires. Treasury Department begins using extraordinary measures to prevent default.

March 2014 or later

• Treasury Department exhausts all extraordinary measures, and Congress must raise the debt ceiling to prevent a default.

Throughout this intense period, we will be calling on you again and again to help urge your members of Congress to advance our legislative priorities. Thank you for your commitment to ending hunger and for going with us into these busy few months.

A Place at the Table: Bread for the World's Offering of Letters

• Watch the Offering of Letters video.
• Order Your 2013 Offering of Letters Kit (Available in English and in Spanish).
• Sign our petition to the president.
• Write to your members of Congress

  ---

• What is an Offering of Letters? Each year, Bread members write to their members of Congress, advocating for policies that help end hunger in the United States and around the world. Often, letter writing is organized in churches and taken up as an offering before sending them to Congress. But we encourage all people who care about hunger to write to their representatives and senators, whether in groups or individually.

• How is this year's Offering of Letters different than in the past? The 2013 Offering of Letters includes signing a petition to the president as well as writing letters to Congress. Now is the time for a bold, unified plan to end hunger in the United States and abroad. If you haven't done so already, take a moment now and sign the petition. You can also dowload copies of the petition and invite friends to sign it and mail it to us.

• Is signing the petition enough? No. Writing letters to Congress is particularly important this year as lawmakers continue to negotiate the federal budget. Letters (and calls and email messages) help give them the political will to protect programs that help hungry and poor people. Those programs are at great risk and any cuts will significantly harm the lives of thousands or millions of people.

• What does the Bible say about hunger? Throughout scripture, God's kingdom is portrayed with ample food and drink and a place for all people at the table. Read our biblical reflection about the biblical basis for our Offering of Letters.

• How does the film A Place at the Table help our efforts to end hunger? This year Bread for the World is an alliance partner for A Place at the Table, a feature-length documentary about the persistence of hunger in America. Showing around the country and available on-demand, the film gives advocates an excellent opportunity to raise awareness. Get more information about the film and supplementary material—including a discussion guide—here.

• How can I learn more about the issues? You can find videos, stories, fact sheets, links, and more on our Learn the Issues page. Keep checking back. We will continue to add material throughout the year.

Documenting Hunger: "A Place at the Table"

How is it possible that people in this country continue to go hungry, despite our abundance of food?

A Place at the Table, a new eye-opening documentary, answers that question through the lives of three people. Barbie, a young Philadelphia mother, fights to make ends meet and break the cycle of poverty. Rosie, an imaginative fifth-grader, tries to distract her mind from hunger pangs as she learns and grows in rural Colorado. And Tremonica, a sunny Mississippi second-grader, struggles with health problems caused by the poor nutritional value of the food that her mother can afford. Their stories reveal the depth of the hunger crisis in America and the factors that drive it.

The film also shows that we have made progress against hunger in the past—and that we can do it again.

VIDEO: Watch the trailer for A Place at the Table

We are pleased that the launch of A Place at the Table coincides with Bread for the World's 2013 Offering of Letters. Together, they magnify our focus on ending hunger through changes in public policy. Our association with Participant Media does not end when the film hits theaters across the country. We are also partners on the social action campaign accompanying the film.

Through A Place at the Table's social action campaign, Bread members have more avenues for action — at both the local and the national level. Bread for the World and Participant Media will regularly ask our advocates to take action throughout this joint campaign.

• No Place at the Table: Discussion Guide for A Place at the Table
• View Barbie's and Rosie's stories on our Videos page
• Take action and answer the film's call to resume our progress towards ending hunger in the U.S. and abroad

NEW! Bread for the World National Conference Call

Check the calendar to register for the next monthly conference call.

A Circle of Protection: A Statement on Why We Need to Protect

 Programs for the Poor

In the face of historic deficits, the nation faces unavoidable choices about how to balance needs and resources and allocate burdens and sacrifices. These choices are economic, political—and moral. As a community of faith, we believe the moral measure of the debate is how the most poor and vulnerable people fare.

We look at every budget proposal from the bottom up—how it treats those called “the least of these” (Matthew 25:45). They do not have powerful lobbies, but they have the most compelling claim on our consciences and common resources. The faith community has an obligation to help them be heard, to join with others to insist that programs that serve the most vulnerable in our nation and around the world are protected. We know from our experience serving hungry and homeless people that these programs meet basic human needs and protect the lives and dignity of the most vulnerable. We believe that God is calling us to pray, fast, give alms and to speak for justice.

As faith leaders, we are committed to fiscal responsibility and shared sacrifice. We are also committed to resist budget cuts that undermine the lives, dignity, and rights of poor and vulnerable people. Therefore, we join with others to form a Circle of Protection around programs that meet the essential needs of hungry and poor people at home and abroad.

1. The nation needs to substantially reduce future deficits, but not at the expense of hungry and poor people.

2. Funding focused on reducing poverty should not be cut. It should be made as effective as possible, but not cut.

3. We urge our leaders to protect and improve poverty-focused development and humanitarian assistance to promote a better, safer world.

4. National leaders must review and consider tax revenues, military spending, and entitlements in the search for ways to share sacrifice and cut deficits.

5. A fundamental task is to create jobs and spur economic growth. Decent jobs at decent wages are the best path out of poverty, and restoring growth is a powerful way to reduce deficits.

6. The budget debate has a central moral dimension. People of faith are asking how we protect “the least of these.” “How do we share sacrifice?” "How do we make 'Justice flow...'"

7. As believers, we turn to God with prayer and fasting, to ask for guidance as our nation makes decisions about our priorities as a people.

8. God continues to shower our nation and the world with blessings. As believers, we are rooted in the love of God. Our task is to share these blessings with love and justice and with a special priority for those who are poor.

Budgets are moral documents, and how we reduce future deficits are historic and defining moral choices. As faith leaders, we urge Congress and the administration to give moral priority to programs that protect the life and dignity of poor and vulnerable people in these difficult times… It is the vocation and obligation of the church to speak and act on behalf of “the least of these.” This is our calling, and we strive to be faithful in carrying out this mission.

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and the needy" Proverbs 31:8-9