Farm Bill Action Moves to the Senate
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Reforming comodity distribution payments to benefit small, famiy-oriented farms will be one of the topics of discussion when the farm bill moves to the Senate.
photo by Todd Post |
Bread for the World's 2007 Offering of Letters, Seeds of Change, calls for reforms in the U.S. farm bill to reduce hunger and poverty, strengthen our nation's rural communities and support small farmers both here and in the developing world.
Much of our recent work has focused on the House of Representatives as members of the Agriculture Committee and later the full House developed and passed farm bill legislation. In July, as the farm bill headed to the House floor, thousands of Bread for the World members called their representatives to support the Fairness in Food and Farm Policy Amendment, which addressed the key principles of our Seeds of Change campaign.
The Fairness Amendment was defeated. Yet our advocacy helped bring many positive changes in the House bill, including a significant increase in funding for nutrition programs and additional resources for conservation. However, the House farm bill, which passed on July 27, contains no broad reform of commodity payments. In fact, this bill protects multi-millionaire farmers instead of working to move money to small farmers.
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The Senate version of the farm bill should prioritize nutrition, conservation and initiatives to help families in the rural United States.
photo by Celia Escudero Espadas |
"Political expediency trumped moral responsibility in the House's vote on the farm bill," said Bread for the World President David Beckmann. "In the end, the House made only cosmetic changes to the outdated commodity payment system…. While obviously disappointing, the passage of the House's version of the 2007 farm bill is by no means the end of the push for broad reform. Eventually, the flood of constituents calling for a fair farm bill will overwhelm the narrow financial interests of the select few."
Once Congress returns to Washington after Labor Day, the Senate will take up the farm bill. Bread for the World members will continue to play a key role in raising awareness about the unfairness in the 2002 farm bill and the needs of hungry and poor people in our country and overseas.
The pressure for reform that we have helped to generate continues to resonate, particularly in the media. While in the past, special interests were able to push farm bills through Congress with little fanfare, this year's farm bill is garnering widespread news coverage. Editorials in many national and local newspapers have called for farm bill reform.
Decisions about the farm bill must now be made in the Senate Agriculture Committee and on the Senate floor. Once the Senate passes its bill sometime this fall, the House and Senate must negotiate a final compromise bill. Thus, there are still many opportunities for our continuing hard work to pay off. Thank you to all who are contributing to the intensive grassroots effort to win a farm bill that will reduce hunger and poverty. Stay tuned!
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Bread for the World’s Rev. Don Williams Is Named Bishop
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Don has served as the Racial/Ethnic OUtreach Associate in read for the World's church Relations Department for nearly 20 years.
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Bread for the World is pleased to announce that staff member Rev. Don Williams has been named a bishop in the United Way of the Cross Church of Christ. Don has served as the Racial/Ethnic Outreach Associate in Bread for the World's Church Relations Department for nearly 20 years.
Presiding Bishop Dr. J.C. Richardson of the Apostle Church of Christ in God, Martinsville, VA, praised Bishop Williams' ministry at Bread for the World in a letter read at his consecration in June.
Bishop Richardson said that the Interfaith Convocation on Hunger, held June 11 at the Washington National Cathedral, "showed me that the Lord has uniquely raised you up to remind us how much He is doing outside our understanding of ministry. As important as local, regional and sectarian ministries are, the [Hunger Convocation] reminded me how shortsighted we can be when it comes to comprehending what the Lord is doing in His world. In your position with Bread for the World, I see an organization doing extraordinary things….
"Your ministry is non-traditional but yet very much Christ centered. It is pioneering in that the contemporary Apostolic Church does not generally consecrate men to the bishopric who are not currently pastoring. You are actually on the cutting edge in the contemporary Apostolic Church…. You have presented yourself to the Lord as His steward and His servant to go wherever He may lead you."
Rev. Jim McDonald, Bread for the World’s Vice President for Policy and Programs, said of Bishop Williams: “Don Williams is truly one of God’s drum majors for justice. He has helped Bread for the World forge strong, deep relationships with church leaders across the African American community, and he has helped church leaders embrace the call of justice through their work with Bread for the World. We are blessed by Don’s presence and work among us.”
Reminder: Bread for the World Sunday is October 21st
Bread for the World Sunday is coming up soon – on October 21 or another Sunday of your choice between World Food Day (October 16) and Thanksgiving. This Sunday is a time for churches to renew their commitment to ending hunger in God's world and reinvigorate their hunger ministries.
Bread for the World offers a free resource kit to help your church celebrate. In addition to a reflection piece and children’s reflection, the resource kit includes prayers, litanies and music selections. You may also order bulletin inserts and pew envelopes. Order yours today.
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"We Should Never Give Up"
The following children's sermon on Luke 18 appears in the Bread for the World Sunday resource kit.
Once there was a little boy who during the summer went with his father to the park every day to play on the monkey bars and swings. He would play and play and play. Finally when he was starting to get hungry, he would join his father on the park bench to eat their picnic lunch of sandwiches, apples, carrots and chips. Then the boy would return to swinging and playing until it was time to go home. One day he realized that another child playing in the park never seemed to stop for lunch. He asked her why she didn't bring a picnic lunch with her. She replied that she lived nearby and could just go home, but there usually wasn't anything there to eat. The next day the boy brought an extra sandwich for her and invited her to have lunch with him. The girl said no, that she wasn't very hungry, even though she was looking at the sandwich as if she was hungry. Every day after that the little boy would bring an extra sandwich and invite the girl to join him. Every day the girl would say that she wasn't hungry. Finally one day when the little boy invited the girl, she said yes, and hungrily ate the sandwich, some carrots, and several of the chocolate chip cookies. And for the rest of the summer the little boy and the little girl ate the lunch that the boy packed each day.
- Do you think the boy was kind to offer to share his lunch with the girl?
- Do you think he was brave to keep inviting her when she kept saying no?
- Would you have kept inviting her or would you have just given up and decided to stop bothering her?
- Have you ever shared a lunch with someone who didn't have one?
In Luke 18 verses 1 to 8 Jesus tells his friends a wonderful story to show them that they should never give up. The story is about a woman who never gave up. She kept going to tell the judge in town that she was not being treated right. The judge didn't care about her. But he got really tired of the woman bothering him, so he decided to help her so she would leave him alone. Because she refused to give up, she was able to make things right for herself. Read the whole story from Luke in your Bible.
- Do you think the woman was brave to keep going back to the judge?
- Do you think she sometimes felt it would be a waste of time?
- Would you have been able to keep going back to a judge who obviously didn't care about you or your problem?
God asks us to love God and love our neighbor. We show we love God with acts of worship and devotion. We show we love our neighbor with acts of kindness and justice.
An act of kindness is sharing a lunch with someone who is hungry, much like the boy in our story today. An act of justice tries to help make food available on a regular basis for hungry people, or to help change some of the reasons that there are hungry people.
- What more could the boy have done for the girl besides sharing his lunch every day?
- Do you know anyone who might be hungry because there is not enough food at home?
- Have you heard of any group or organization that helps provide food on a regular basis for hungry people?
- What can you do to be more involved with helping hungry people?
Ann Davis is Director of Children’s Ministries and Discipleship for the Virginia Annual Conference United Methodist Church
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Winning Resources for the World's Hungry and Poor People
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Women contribute two-thirds of Africa's work hours, but earn only 10 percent of the continent's income.
Photo by Margaret W. Nea |
Nearly 800 million hungry people live in the world's developing countries. The faithful work of Bread for the World members has helped win billions of dollars in additional development assistance that will reduce hunger and poverty. We have also secured specific commitments from our nation's decision makers to help achieve even more.
The United States' global commitments 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.
Further increases in poverty-focused development assistance are needed to enable the United States to keep these commitments.
For fiscal year 2007, Bread for the World members helped win an additional $1.4 billion in poverty-focused development assistance through our 2006 Offering of Letters, One Spirit. One Will. Zero Poverty.
Bread for the World is now working for an increase in development assistance for fiscal year 2008. Congress is in the midst of setting these spending levels. The full House of Representatives and the Senate Appropriations Committee have passed spending bills for international affairs. The House approved $14.77 billion for poverty-focused development assistance, while the Senate Appropriations Committee included approximately $14.1 billion. The lower figure approved by the Senate committee is nonetheless an increase of $1.3 billion over the amount allocated for FY2007.
The next step is for the full Senate to vote on the bill this fall. Bread for the World's goals for the Senate vote are to secure the highest possible figure for poverty-focused development assistance and to increase funding for the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). The MCA makes resources available to developing countries committed to investing in their people and fighting poverty. The Senate Appropriations Committee funded the MCA at just $1.2 billion. Not only is this significantly less funding than the full House bill and well under half the administration's request, it represents a cut from last year's funding levels.
Such a low allocation would jeopardize the MCA's ability to fund compacts with countries that are already well along in the process of developing their plans (for example, Tanzania and Burkina Faso). Bread for the World and other international development organizations are educating congressional offices about the implications of the MCA funding decision and calling for a larger MCA allocation.
Your members of Congress need to continue hearing from constituents about the needs of hungry people and the importance of keeping our national commitments by increasing poverty-focused development assistance. Families around the world will benefit from every increase we can win.
STAND UP on October 17
Bread for the World invites you to participate in the second annual STAND UP on October 17. Join millions of people from around the world – coordinated by the Global Call to Action Against Poverty Millennium Campaign -- to Stand Up and Speak Out against poverty and inequality.
Last year, more than 23 million people in 87 countries stood up and called on world leaders to honor their commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). STAND UP was the largest single coordinated mobilization in the history of the Guinness World Records.
This year participants will again Stand Up and call on our leaders to meet the MDGs, which include cutting hunger and extreme poverty in half by 2015, reducing child and maternal mortality, and establishing a global partnership for development.
Find out where, when, and how to hold a STAND UP.
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Decades of Anti-Hunger Work in New Mexico and Nebraska
Charlotte and Titus Scholl have always worked to help hungry people. They joined Bread for the World nearly three decades ago in Albuquerque, NM. Mrs. Scholl said that she and her late husband joined at the urging of their pastor.
"I really agree with Bread for the World's approach to using legislation to help hungry people," she said. "It's not just about giving food, although that is important, but it's also about advocacy. The United States should do something about hunger and not just leave everything up to individuals."
The Scholls lived for 44 years in Albuquerque, where they started a program to give clothing, furniture and food for people in need. Initially, donations were left on their front porch. The project grew until today the goods are housed in a large warehouse. The Scholls also helped to start a food bank in Albuquerque in 1970, when there were few precedents to guide them.
The Scholls are truly inspirational in their support of Bread for the World. They have faithfully contributed each and every year since becoming members. They participated in quarterly donations for many years and have established several generous charitable gift annuities benefiting Bread for the World. Their devoted generosity strengthens our work for hungry and poor people. Learn more about gift annuities and other planned giving options.
When the Scholls moved to Nebraska a few years ago, Mrs. Scholl began at once to learn about the state's elected officials. "I write letters, because I think they'll do some good," she said. She is particularly interested in the root causes of hunger and mentioned that she is grateful for the progress that has been made on debt relief.
Bread for the World President David Beckmann said that he admires the faithful work done by Mr. and Mrs. Scholl. “Just in a very unpretentious way, Charlotte Scholl has made a significant contribution to our efforts on behalf of hungry and poor people,” he said. “Plus, she and her husband established direct service organizations that have grown exponentially and are community fixtures today. We are very grateful for all her years of service and advocacy to end hunger in God’s world.”
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Advocacy Opportunities This Fall
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Conversations with members of Congress help Bread for the world members, like Laurie Lewis, win change for hungry people.
photo by Jay Mallin |
This fall offers many opportunities to join with others -- Bread for the World members as well as activists from across the country and around the world – to advocate for hungry and poor people.
Here are some upcoming events:
September 6 through October 15 – a Rolling Fast seeking an end to global hunger and poverty. Bread for the World members and churches are invited to sign up to fast during any of the 40 days. We are asking that on the day of your fast, you also contact your members of Congress and ask them to take steps to end global poverty, especially support for farm bill reform and for significant increases in poverty-focused development assistance. Find out more on the fast and sign up.
Bread for the World members will be fasting as part of a larger, 40-day fast for debt cancellation and an end to global poverty, sponsored by Jubilee USA. Jubilee's effort will be led by Rev. David Duncombe, also a Bread for the World member, who will begin an open-ended fast on September 6. As his fast continues, Rev. Duncombe will visit congressional offices to discuss the connection between faith and putting an end to global poverty and hunger.
October 16 – World Food Day, a worldwide event to increase awareness, understanding and year-round action to alleviate hunger. In the United States, 450 nonprofit groups organize World Food Day events at the community level. Participants seek to strengthen advocacy and networking for a greater impact on global hunger. For more information, please visit the Web site of the U.S. National Committee for World Food Day.
October 17 – STAND UP. Last year, more than 23 million people from 89 countries called on national governments to end global poverty. Find out how to get involved in this year's event.
October 21 (or any Sunday between World Food Day on October 16 and Thanksgiving) – Bread for the World Sunday. Take this opportunity to recommit your church to action on behalf of hungry and poor people. Order free worship materials, including bulletin inserts.
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Eight States Collect Over Half of All Farm Spending
Only about 6 percent of the U.S. rural population works in agriculture.
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Of these, two-thirds receive no commodity payments.
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Of those who receive commodity payments, the bottom 80 percent have gotten an average of $704 per year over the past 11 years.
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In contrast, the top 2 percent of commodity payment recipients have received, on average, more than $900,000 per year.
Source: Environmental Working Group
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Call your senators and ask them to push for broad reform of the farm bill when the Senate takes up the bill in September.
Points to make:
- Please ensure that the farm bill passed by the Senate includes:
- Reform of commodity policies that protect multi-millionaire farmers but do nothing to move money to small farmers.
- Increased food stamp benefits so that U.S. families can have access to nutritious and affordable food.
- More investment in rural development, especially resources targeted to the U.S. communities in greatest need.
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For the complete newsletter in its print version, please contact:
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Publications, Bread for the World
50 F Street, NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20001
| Telephone: 202-639-9400
Fax: 202-639-9401
Email: publications@bread.org |
