About Us

Seeds of Change: Help Farmers. End Hunger

This offering sought to win broad reform in the U.S. farm bill— making commodity programs into a more equitable safety net for our nation's farmers, and shifting additional resources into nutrition, conservation and rural development programs. Such reforms are needed to make the farm bill a more effective tool in fighting hunger and poverty both here at home and around the world. As of now, the legislation is still pending. Read the most recent developments.

Bread for the World is a founding member of the ONE Campaign to fight the emergencies of extreme poverty, hunger and HIV/AIDS in the developing world. This offering helped to secure an increase of $1.4 billion in poverty-focused development assistance, in order to keep our nation's promises to the world's hungry and poor people. Most of this money is for HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care in low-income countries. Anti-malaria efforts and refugee assistance also received increases.

 Make Hunger History

Bread for the World helped stop Congress from pushing hundreds of thousands of hardworking people and their children off the Food Stamp Program. We also built a strong bipartisan list of Congressional cosponsors of the Hunger-Free Communities Act. This act would help build the political will to end hunger in our country and provide funding to local and religious groups to work together to end hunger in their communities. Congress has not yet completed consideration of this bill.

Keep the Promise on Hunger and Health

This campaign sought to increase funding for poverty-focused development assistance, especially funding for the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) and the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Although funding increases did not reach requested levels, Bread for the World helped win more than a $1 billion increase in poverty-focused development assistance, a 12 percent increase over Fiscal Year 2004 levels. These increases brought the funding levels to almost $1.5 billion for the MCA and $2.9 billion for HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria.

Rise to the Challenge: End World Hunger

Congress established the Millennium Challenge Account as a new international assistance initiative focused on poverty reduction, and made the largest funding increase in decades to combat hunger, poverty and disease in the developing world. The faithful advocacy of Bread for the World members helped persuade Congress to approve a $2 billion increase in poverty-focused development assistance – up 33 percent over the previous year!

Africa: Hunger to Harvest

Congress approved a bipartisan proposal calling for significant new development assistance to sub-Saharan Africa and for President Bush to work with African and other world leaders to dramatically reduce hunger and poverty on the continent. The proposal also requests President Bush report back to Congress with five- and 10-year plans for increasing development assistance and reducing hunger in Africa.

2000

A Fair Share: Working to End Hunger

This campaign worked to pass the Hunger Relief Act and to increase the federal minimum wage by $1 over two years. President Bill Clinton signed into law two provisions of the Hunger Relief Act, which were included in the agricultural spending bill. Hungry people will see a significant increase in their food stamp benefits by allowing them to keep a reliable car and to take a higher shelter cost deduction.

1999

Proclaim Jubilee: Break the Chains of Debt

Bread for the World joined a global campaign to support debt relief to the world's poorest countries. Over 1999 and 2000, Congress freed up more than $2.5 billion, including $545 million toward the U.S. contribution to the debt relief plan. The World Bank and other international financial institutions also announced a major shift in policy that would tie debt relief efforts to poverty reduction.

1998

Africa: Seeds of Hope

President Clinton signed the Africa: Seeds of Hope Act into law. It redirects U.S. resources toward small-scale farmers and struggling rural communities in Africa. It also established a self-replenishing emergency grain reserve for a faster, more cost-effective food aid response to humanitarian crises throughout the world.

1997

Tell Congress: Hunger Has A Cure

We helped win $1.6 billion in increased funding for nutrition programs in 1997, which kept 400,000 people from losing WIC or food stamps. In 1998, Congress approved an additional $818 million in food stamp restorations for 250,000 vulnerable legal immigrants - children, elderly and disabled people.

1996

Elect to End Childhood Hunger

The campaign educated voters and candidates about widespread hunger among U.S. children and what can be done about it. Nearly 700 candidates committed themselves to support federal legislation to help overcome childhood hunger. Forty percent of the candidates elected to Congress in 1996 made this commitment.

1995

Africa: Crisis to Opportunity

Congress slashed aid to Africa and other development assistance, but Bread for the World helped protect at least $100 million in life-saving aid to Africa.

1994

A Child Is Waiting

Bread for the World helped win $260 million increases for WIC in 1994 and again in 1995. U.S. Committee for UNICEF and the Carter Center select BFW as 1994 International Child Survival Awardee

1993

Many Neighbors, One Earth

Sustainable development—the reduction of hunger and poverty in environmentally sound ways—became a prominent purpose of the U.S. administration's foreign aid policy. Funding for programs focused on sustainable development was cut less than military and security aid during 1993 and 1994.

1992

Every Fifth Child

Bread for the World helped win almost $2 billion in increases to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Head Start and Job Corps—three cost-effective federal childhood hunger programs—in 1992 and 1993, benefiting about a million infants, mothers, children and youth.

1990

BFW opens four-year Harvest of Peace campaign to shift Cold War funds to human needs. BFW wins legislative provisions that result in $2.3 billion in debt relief for poor countries. (President George Bush signs BFW's Horn of Africa Recovery and Food Security Act into law in 1992).

1989

BFW campaign to fully fund WIC results in an expansion of the program to reach 200,000 more women, infants and children. Alan Shawn Feinstein World Hunger Award goes to BFW.

1988

With the help of BFW's campaigning, U.S. increases funds to assist women in development activities

1987

BFW members win $73 million in additional funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).

1986

BFW's "Chance to Survive" campaign increases funding for child survival and immunization programs.

1985

Congress approves BFW-backed special Africa program of IFAD.

1984

Congress establishes a $25 million Child Survival Fund and increases funding for the International Fund for Agriculture and Development (IFAD) based on campaigns by BFW.

1982

BFW helps halt cuts in domestic nutrition programs.

1981

At the urging of BFW and other groups, Congress requires the U.S. Agency for International Development to target development aid to people living in absolute poverty.

1980

Through efforts of BFW, hunger and global security legislation reforming development and food aid passes Congress.

1979

BFW begins successful 13-year campaign to create a national nutrition monitoring system.

1978

Congress approves BFW-supported food aid reform aimed at increasing self-reliance in developing countries.

1977

At BFW's urging, Congress creates a farmer-owned grain reserve and an emergency grain reserve to aid in international food crises.

1975

Right to Food Resolution, BFW's first Offering of Letters, passes both houses of Congress

1974

Bread for the World (BFW) founded