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Farm Bill Reform Gains Momentum in Congress

Members of Congress, particularly those who serve on the Senate and House agriculture committees, are debating proposals for the 2007 farm bill. Bread for the World staff and activists are in regular contact with key senators and representatives as part of our Offering of Letters, Seeds of Change: Help Farmers. End Hunger.

Several pieces of legislation related to the farm bill have now been drafted or introduced, and Bread for the World will respond based on our analysis of each bill's impact on hunger and poverty.

It is encouraging to see the principles from our Offering of Letters reflected in some of the legislative language. One example, the Food and Agriculture Risk Management for the 21st Century Act (FARM 21), has been introduced by Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) as S. 1422, and we anticipate that a companion bill will also be introduced in the House of Representatives. In accordance with our Seeds of Change priorities, FARM 21 would set up a procedure to transition the nation's farmers from existing commodity payment programs to alternative forms of support. The bill would also increase funding for the farm bill's nutrition title and for investments that strengthen rural communities, both of which are also key components of our Offering of Letters.  

BFW president David Beckmann said, "We are pleased to see members of Congress drafting legislation that supports the principles of Seeds of Change. We will take a close look at how the bills implement their proposals to help farmers of modest means and reduce hunger in the United States and overseas."

Beckmann was invited to discuss Bread for the World's top priorities for farm bill reform at a hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee on April 25. 

"Many people in this room have worked and lived U.S. farm policy for many years. I'm a preacher – and I am grateful for your attention to the perspective I bring to your work," said Beckmann.

After mentioning that Bread for the World has supported stronger federal nutrition programs for many years, Beckmann noted our expanding focus: "After the 2002 farm bill went into effect, we started hearing from church leaders in Africa that it was causing problems for many poor and hungry families in their countries… we came to the conclusion that the current farm bill is not working very well for farm and rural families of modest means in our country either."

Beckmann expressed Bread for the World's support for alternatives to U.S. farm policies that make it more difficult for farmers in developing countries to sell their crops at a fair price.

"In some cases, developing country farmers compete directly with subsidized produce, even in their own markets," he said.

"Alternative approaches to helping farmers – through conservation, rural development, improved crop insurance or other risk management mechanisms, for example – could be viable options."

The farm bill discussions in Congress will continue for the remainder of this year. Thank you to all who continue to let your members of Congress know that their constituents support reforms to make the farm bill more fair and effective.

Standing in Solidarity with Farmers

Our family has been farming in northwest Ohio since 1835. We've been married 52 years and have raised five daughters and a son. We're fourth generation farmers, introducing the 5th and 6th. We grow corn, soybeans, wheat and we also have a couple of woodlots. Our farm is 450 acres, and we own about half of that. We've lived a very blessed life.

We've seen a lot of changes in farming, especially over the past 25 years. It's becoming harder and harder to make a living by farming. We've watched friends and family members forced to sell their farms. Our own son works and 8-hour a day job off the farm to support his family. His 16-year-old son is hoping to become a farmer, too. He's learning what it will take. He and his friends stayed up all night at the end of last year's harvest, to get the corn in the bins before the hard rain hit.

Here's what else we've seen: The struggle is even more difficult for farmers in poor countries. Thanks to the Foods Resource Bank and the United Methodist Committee on Relief, we've traveled to Africa and Central America, meeting with farmers and hearing their stories. We've leaned that we're competing with these farmers—something we didn't realize. Many of them can't sell their crops in their own countries, because the prices. Of certain crops have been lowered on the world market due to government cash payments.

We think it doesn't have to be that way. Our faith tells us we are all God's children. The U.S. farm bill can be made to better serve famers and rural communities in this country, who truly need the help. But changes can also be made that don't harm farmers in poor countries. They just want to support their families—we all do.

Please prayerfully consider writing to your member of Congress about the farm bill, through Bread for the World's Offering of Letters, Seeds of Change: Help Farmers. End Hunger. With God's help and your commitment, we can see a fairer harvest for all.

Vernon and Carol Sloan
Sloan Farm, Stryker, Ohio

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Say Not!

By Rev. Adam Phillips

As a new evangelical pastor in the city of Chicago, I've been reflecting on Paul's charge to Timothy, "Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity (1 Timothy 4:12)." Not that anyone actively feels that way towards my ministry; it's just that at times I experience questions of inadequacy and challenges as I lead people in seeking God's glory and our neighbor's good.

I feel that way keenly as my congregation engages in compassion, justice, and advocacy work. Whether with public leaders, apathetic neighbors or colleagues, the challenge to set forth a living example of love and faith can be overwhelming. But then a friend reminds me of God's word to the young prophet Jeremiah: "Say not, 'I am only a child;' for you shall go to all whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you… (Jeremiah 1:7,8)" The call of God to seek justice in our world is a call that compels and sustains through these moments.

Recently I met with a gathering of leaders in their 20s and 30s who are active across the country with Bread for the World. We gathered around our common vocation and resolved to not be stopped despite our age. God was calling us forward. We determined to say not that we are young, but that we are already leaders. We determined to say not that hunger is acceptable, but that we could share abundance in our time. We determined to say not that there isn't the political will to end extreme poverty, but that we would sow seeds in hope.

Our task at hand, our vocation, is to seek first the kingdom of God: a place where hunger and poverty are no more. In a world as it is, not yet as it should be, that can be tricky. But in the words of a modern prophet, singer and activist Bono: "We get to carry each other."

Rev. Adam Phillips is pastor of Ressurection Covenant Church in Chicago. He spent a year working with Covenant World Relief in Bread for the World’s tional office.

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Working for Development Assistance for 2008

Bread for the World members helped win an additional $1.4 billion in poverty-focused development assistance for 2007 through your efforts in the 2006 Offering of Letters, One Spirit. One Will. Zero Poverty.

Now Congress is making decisions on the 2008 budget, and Bread for the World is again seeking an increase in poverty-focused development assistance. Additional funds are needed to enable the United States to keep its commitments to hungry and poor people around the world. Our country's promises include doubling development assistance to Africa by 2010 and doing our share to achieve the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. The first MDG is to cut hunger and extreme poverty in half.

The administration asked Congress for an increase of nearly $1.5 billion in poverty-focused development assistance for FY2008. It is an encouraging sign that both the House and Senate budget committees responded by recommending strong increases which would come in addition to the $1.4 billion increase for FY2007.

The next step is to secure an appropriation for foreign affairs that is sufficient to allow for a significant increase in development assistance. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE) sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee leadership, requesting them to approve an increase as recommended by the Senate and House budget committees. Bread for the World activists contacted their senators and urged them to support the Feinstein-Hagel initiative. To date, 55 senators – more than half the Senate – have signed on to the letter.

We have updated the One Spirit Offering of Letters kit to support this year’s effort to increase poverty-focused development assistance. Please order the udpate from our online store and help in the effort to secure an increase for FY2008. Hungry people around the world benefit from every increase we win.

Support We Can Count On

Gladys Flesher and her husband Harry have been members of Bread for the World for more than 25 years.  Each year the Fleshers have faithfully renewed their membership – they have not missed a year! These gifts are essential to our work: Annual memberships, which begin at $25 a year, account for more than half of Bread for the World's income.

The Fleshers are also actively involved in advocating on behalf of hungry and poor people. Several years ago, Gladys began to lead Bread for the World Offerings of Letters at their church, St. Luke Lutheran in Portland, OR. "I do a temple talk for our main Offering of Letters at all three Sunday services," said Gladys. "I try to do something a little different every year. This year, I brought a timer with me – one of those old-fashioned ones with a really loud ring. I set it to go off after three minutes. Then I told the congregation that three minutes is all it takes to write a letter to a member of Congress – a letter that can really affect the lives of hungry people."

Gladys encourages young people especially to realize that they can take action on hunger. She often gives a sermon for children on Bread for the World's Offering of Letters topic. "Our confirmation students go on a beach retreat and I always send the Bread for the World materials with them – especially the DVD," she added. "They each write at least one letter."

"I often bake either bread or rolls and bring a basket along to our Offering of Letters table," Gladys explained. "We take advantage of Bread for the World's bulletin inserts to give people the basic information, and I encourage them to adapt the sample letter for themselves. We show the Offering of Letters DVD continually in the narthex. My husband helps serve the baked goods to letter-writers. Then I generally hand-carry the letters to the district offices of our members of Congress. Our average is about 80 letters."

A sincere thank you to all our members. Your work and faithful contributions are truly making a difference in the lives of hungry and poor people. Please join with the Fleshers and give a membership gift today by visiting http://www.bread.org/give.

Making Dinner on a Budget: One Dollar Per Meal

Can you identify with hungry people if you have never experienced hunger yourself? Perhaps. For many who recently lived on a food stamp budget for a week, though, it became easier with personal experience.

Along with Oregon's governor and others mobilized by the Oregon Food Bank's "food stamp challenge," 85 members of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, OR spent no more than $21 each – the average food stamp benefit in Oregon – for seven days' worth of food. Using food already on hand at home had to be factored in as well.

Rev. Kurt Levensaler, director of Outreach Ministries at the church, pointed out that the experience was "an act of prayerful solidarity with our neighbors who are hungry."

Participant Mary Sicilia noted, "While I know that most of us only got a tiny feel for the daily struggle of our fellow citizens who must rely on food stamps… this was so much more effective than just reading the statistics on food poverty in our state."

Participants said that while they rarely experienced hunger pangs, they had been unable to eat a nutritious diet. Many mentioned the monotony of rice and pasta. "I discovered there are no cheap cheeses – even artificial cheese is expensive," Sicilia continued. "Fresh fruits and vegetables were too expensive… everything but lettuce for making salads adds up quickly. I suspect the resulting diet would start taking a toll on our health fairly soon."  

"I wanted to savor each bite of my meal – almost like sacred time!" said Cheryl Richardson of her experience. "I took time in between bites… and I really thought about how people have to do this week after week."

In a move to help bring hunger to the attention of Congress, Reps. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) have invited their colleagues to join them in their upcoming week of living on a food stamp budget. The experience of Governor Ted Kulongoski of Oregon drew significant media attention; as he said, "This is an issue every citizen should be aware of."

Interested in trying the Food Stamp Challenge at your church?  You can download and adapt the journal developed by Trinity Episcopal Cathedral for use in your own church setting.  Just look for the highlighted places where you can insert information specific to your state. Downlod in pdf  or Word . State-by-state data on food samps can be found on our website, or contact your regional organizer for more help or more specific information.

For more on the “food stamp challenge” and strengthening the Food Stamp Program, see the June Background Paper.

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Urge your senators and representative to improve the U.S. farm bill in ways that will reduce hunger in this country and around the world.

Unsure who your member of Congress is?  Find contact information for returning and newly-elected members.

Points to make:

• In the United States, 35 million people live in families that struggle to put food on the table. 
  
  
• The Food Stamp Program, the country's first line of defense against hunger, should be strengthened so that it reaches more eligible people and enables participants to afford a healthy diet.
  
  
• Our country's farm policy should support U.S. farmers in ways that do not make it more difficult for farmers in developing countries to sell their crops at a fair price and feed their families.
  
  
• The farm bill is the primary legislation on rural affairs. Strengthening U.S. rural communities should be a top priority.

U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Capitol Switchboard: 202/224-3121

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