An
effective
response to hunger must combine private and
public actions, neither can do the job
alone. Christians have worked well in the
private arena, Bread for the World provides
a means where Christians can work equally
well for effective public policies in the
fight against hunger...
Bread for the World is
urging Congress to renew our federal
government’s major child nutrition
programs, including those for school
meals, summer feeding, and the WIC
nutrition program for pregnant and new
mothers along with their small children.
Every five years,
Congress must re-authorize the law that
funds these programs, which have helped
millions of children over the decades.
Thanks to the leadership of Bread for the
World and its church partners, the 2010
Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act expanded and
improved these programs.
Now
is the time to renew these national
nutrition programs. Be part of Bread’s
2015 Offering of Letters by taking a few
minutes to write letters to your members
of Congress.
Contact me for more
information, speakers setup or help on
setting up your own Offering of Letters
Bread articles cover issues
and legislation that affects
hungry and poor people, our work
in the field, and the advocacy of
our members. Published eight times
a year.
This newsletter is sent three
times a year. Legacy of Hope
offers information on financial
planning and tells the stories of
individuals and families who
support our work to end hunger.
Bread
Oregon Blog: Latest Posts (click the title below
to see the article)
Oregon Bread Team:
Join the Bread team and get more
involved in contacting our
representatives about hunger
issues and spreading the story of
Bread for the World to churches in
your area (Find
out more).
A Circle of
Protection: A Statement on Why We Need
to Protect
Programs for the Poor
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
About
Hunger
In 2005, the latest year for which data
are available, 1.4 billion people in developing
countries lived in extreme
poverty—on less than $1.25 a day—down
from 1.9 billion in 1981.
In the United States,
14.5 percent of households struggle to
put food on the table. More than one in
four children is at risk of hunger.
We can end hunger in
our time. Everyone, including
government, must do their part.
By making
our voices heard in Congress, we make
our laws more fair and compassionate to
people in need.
Bread for the World is a
collective Christian voice
urging our nation's decision makers to
end hunger at home and abroad.
God's grace in Jesus Christ moves us to
help our neighbors, whether they live in
the next house, the next state, or the
next continent.
Confronting the problem of hunger can
seem overwhelming.
What can one person do? Plenty.
Bread for the World members write
personal letters and emails and meet
with our members of Congress.
Working through our churches, campuses,
and other organizations, we engage more
people in advocacy.
Each year, Bread for the World invites
churches across the country to take up a
nationwide Offering
of Letters to Congress on an issue
that is important to hungry and poor
people.
Speak out for those who cannot speak, for
the rights of all the destitute. Speak
out, judge righteously, defend the rights
of the poor and needy. (Proverbs 31:8-9)
Bread for the World is a collective
Christian voice urging our nation’s
decision makers to end hunger at home and
abroad. Our partners represent a wide
spectrum of church organizations and faith
communities.
Everyone—including government—must do
their part to end hunger. With the stroke
of a pen, policies are made that redirect
millions of dollars and affect millions of
lives. Make your voices heard in Congress
by speaking out for the needs of hungry
and poor people.
Bread for the World is a collective
Christian voice urging our nation's
decision makers to end hunger at home and
abroad. When we turn our faith into
action, God uses our voices. Again and
again, we win help and opportunity for
hungry and poor people.
Bread for the World empowers faith
communities, campus groups, and other
organizations to end hunger. Are you
interested in getting involved in your
local community?
