"Doing Justice” for Hungry and Poor People

By Michele Learner

May 2007

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"…and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)

As people of faith, we are called to do what the Lord requires. Doing justice is a key part of this. A world where there is abundant food for all is lacking only the will to ensure that no one goes hungry. We need to build that will.

Bread for the World works to persuade decision-makers to adopt policies that make it possible for everyone to afford nutritious food for themselves and their children. The changes needed to accomplish this mission sometimes appear dramatic and complex, if not impossible. But the aim is straightforward: to end hunger among all the people in God's world. And it is feasible.

Motivated by their faith, activists prepare to take their concerns about hungry people to their members of Congress. More and more people are taking such action. Rick Reinhard

Bread for the World has a sustained record of winning victories for hungry people in the United States and around the world. But by ourselves, we are not large enough to achieve all the necessary improvements. We need others of faith and conscience, in every arena, to join us. That's why Bread for the World as an organization is committed to building the larger movement against hunger and poverty.

New Opportunities: The Next Elections

Among our most important allies are decision-makers who understand the concerns of hungry and poor people and will act on those concerns. The president of the United States and the members of Congress that we elect should be among those allies. The 2008 election season has already begun. As presidential candidates continue to develop their positions on the issues, Bread for the World members and staff will be in touch and attending public meetings to ensure that hunger and poverty get the attention they deserve. Bread for the World is also a founding member of the ONE Campaign, which plans a major initiative to persuade presidential candidates to commit to increasing international development assistance.

Presidential candidates of both parties are paying some attention to issues important to poor people, and at an earlier point than the candidates in the 2004 election. Some have talked about their specific plans to reduce poverty, while others have highlighted the urgency of international humanitarian crises or the need to ensure that our country's working families do not live in poverty.

Hungry and poor people need specific, firm commitments from those who seek to be national leaders. Bread for the World urges voters concerned about these issues to let candidates know.

New Opportunities: The Farm Bill

This year, Bread for the World is seeking improvements in the U.S. farm bill – legislation which encompasses not only farm policy, but rural development, conservation, the Food Stamp Program, and other initiatives. The legislation is complex, but so far-reaching that one of our partner organizations points out, "No one who eats can afford to yawn" when the farm bill is discussed.

Our 2007 Offering of Letters, Seeds of Change, calls on Congress to strengthen rural U.S. communities and better support hungry people in the United States, farmers and other rural families of modest means, and farmers in poor countries struggling to sell their crops.

The farm bill has brought many potential partners to our advocacy efforts. "We've started talking and sharing information on a regular basis with groups like the Center for Rural Affairs in Nebraska, as well as with our traditional denominational partners and organizations," said Bread for the World Senior Regional Organizer Tammy Walhof. She added that this networking often broadens the impact of advocacy on the farm bill. For example, Bread for the World activists learned with little time to spare that Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) had scheduled a district hearing on rural development. A specialist who had worked with the Center for Rural Affairs offered the senator briefing materials before the hearing.

This year's farm bill debate has also attracted people active in the sustainable farming movement and other farmers, often new to anti-hunger work. In Minnesota, for example, they have been attending workshops organized by Bread for the World, Church World Service, The Minnesota Council of Churches and the Catholic archdiocese's rural life and social justice offices. Many have said they are pleased that churches are working on the farm bill. Even those who were initially skeptical about whether non-rural residents could understand the realities of farming have left Bread for the World events saying that they agree with many of the reform proposals we are supporting – and that, even in areas where they don't agree, they respect the serious thought that has been given to developing our positions.

"I think many of the ideas we present resonate with people new to Bread for the World who live in rural areas," said Walhof. "We will continue to be engaged with them and encourage them to be active on farm bill issues."

New Opportunities: International Partnerships

The Alliance to End Hunger has been developing partnerships with anti-hunger alliances in developing countries. Recently anti-hunger activist and government official Andres Botran of Guatemala made a presentation at Bread for the World.

Guatemala is setting a strong example of how countries can take bold new steps to solve their hunger problem. The statistics are disturbing -- nearly half of the country's children are undernourished. Botran was a leader in the nongovernmental organization Frente Contra el Hambre (Action Against Hunger) before being appointed Guatemala's first Secretary of Food Security and Nutrition – a cabinet-level position.

Botran noted, "One of our biggest milestones has been being able to sit down at the table – civil society organizations, NGOs, international cooperation agencies and government institutions -- to analyze, each from its own point of view, how to reach a common goal: to minimize the vulnerability of the Guatemalan population next year."

 "A country can't say that it is fighting against hunger if just the government is working or civil society is," he continued. "It has to be an initiative in which all actors are committed… One actor alone can never have as much impact as a network of partners."

On World Food Day 2005, Guatemala and Brazil launched a joint initiative, Latin America and the Caribbean Without Hunger 2025. The campaign plans to eradicate hunger in Latin America by 2025 by eliminating malnutrition among 3.5 million people per year.

Bread for the World President David Beckmann has been active in the hunger task force the U.N. Millennium Campaign, which supports Guatemala, Brazil and dozens of other countries in their efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The United States and nearly every other country in the world have agreed to these goals, which include cutting hunger in half by 2015. The director of the Millennium Campaign, Salil Shetty, will be a featured speaker at Sowing Seeds: Growing a Movement, The Gathering 2007, organized by Bread for the World June 9-12 in Washington, DC.

New Efforts by Christian Denominations

BFW members have extensive knowledge and creative ways to share it with the wider movement to end hunger and poverty. Jay Johnson

Bread for the World's longtime denominational partners continue to work alongside us to strengthen the impact of the anti-hunger movement. Initiatives like Micah Challenge, a global Christian campaign working to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, remain vital as well. Rev. Joel Edwards, co-chair of the Micah Challenge International Council, will be a featured speaker at The Gathering 2007 in June.

We are also forging relationships with new Christian organizations. Bread for the World is a founding member of a new coalition, Christians Coming Together in the USA (CCT), which the Christian Science Monitor describes as the "broadest ecumenical fellowship ever formed in this country." Bishop Steven Blaire of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockton, CA, said of CCT, "There is a strong realization that if we as Christians are to be effective in the world we need to be a common voice. And addressing poverty is integral to the work and witness of being a Christian." CCT's next annual meeting is in Washington, DC in 2008.

It is the work of Bread for the World's faithful members, partner organizations and religious organizations that sustains and builds the movement to reduce hunger and poverty. We are grateful to all of you for your efforts to reach out to political leaders, international activists, fellow Christians, and friends and neighbors, encouraging them to join us in our mission to do justice as the Lord requires.

Bringing it Together in June – And After

Sowing Seeds: Growing a Movement, The Gathering 2007, will be held June 9-12, 2007, in Washington, DC. Organized by Bread for the World, Bread for the World Institute and the Alliance to End Hunger in partnership with denominations and religious organizations across the United States, Sowing Seeds brings together thousands of people of faith ready to participate in God's liberating action to end hunger and poverty in this country and around the world. For four days, participants will come together to be inspired, to build and strengthen relationships, and to learn from one another. Participants will return home with the skills and support needed to continue to advocate for the needs of hungry and poor people.

The second Interfaith Convocation on Hunger will take place at Washington National Cathedral on June 11. National leaders of Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and other faith groups will call on the president and Congress to join them in renewing our nation's commitment to end hunger. On June 12, Lobby Day, participants in The Gathering 2007 will carry the message of Seeds of Change to Capitol Hill.

Several pre-events have been planned for The Gathering 2007.

The presidents of the women's missionary organizations of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ), African Methodist Episcopal (AME) and Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) will lead an event for women leaders, focused on the key role of Christian women's organizations in reducing hunger and poverty.

A pre-conference session for first-time attendees will help new activists of all ages find their own "heart" for anti-hunger advocacy.

Dr. Cheryl Sanders, professor of Christian ethics at Howard Divinity School, will convene a pre-event for seminary students and professors. A pre-Gathering Pentecostal Church Leaders' Forum is also planned.