by Sharon Heck
heck37@verizon.net
Bread for the World’s 2017 Offering of Letters is titled “Doing Our Part to End HUNGER.” The United States and the world have made substantial progress toward ending hunger and poverty over the past several decades. Worldwide, extreme poverty – living on less than $1.90 a day – has been cut in half over the past 30 years. But more work needs to be done. Nearly 800 million people in the world are still hungry. In the United States, 1 in 6 children lives in a family that struggles with hunger. President Trump and many in Congress are pushing to dismantle or cut funding for programs that offer direct help to buy food for infants and families in this country. Also threatened are international programs that provide nutrition assistance for young children and that help struggling farmers grow more food for their families and communities.
Government programs cannot by themselves end hunger. Families, churches and charities also have to play their parts. But we can only end hunger if our national government does its part. Bread for the World’s 2017 Offering of Letters calls on Congress to pass budget and appropriations bills that put us on track to end hunger by 2030.
Regardless of which party controls Congress or the White House, our elected leaders must adopt and administer our nation’s budget. Through the federal budget our government invests in many programs that help people stay out of poverty and feed their families. Nations around the world, including the United States, have agreed to work for an end to hunger and related goals by 2030. Vital policies and safety-net programs–including WIC, global nutrition, SNAP, and refundable tax credits–must be properly funded and protected. Dismantling or cutting funding for such programs would make the goal of ending hunger by 2030 unlikely.
By writing your own letters to Congress – and encouraging your church to conduct an Offering of Letters – you can do your part to help end hunger. Contact Bread for the World at www.bread.org to obtain an Offering of Letters Kit and to learn more about current advocacy steps you can take.
Here are the addresses if you want to write a letter right now.
Senator__________________
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Representative__________________
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515