Today, more than 250 people will take part in Bread for the World’s 2015 Lobby Day. Bread activists will advocate for hungry children in the United States and around the world by urging Congress to support the Summer Meals Act of 2015 and the Global Food Security Act of 2015.
“Today, we are advocating for legislation that will help us reach our goal of ending hunger by 2030,” said Eric Mitchell, director of government relations at Bread for the World. “You cannot end hunger as long as there are millions of children who are living in households that are struggling to put food on the table, and there are farmers in need of resources to grow food in their communities.”
In the U.S., only one out of every seven low-income children getting free lunch at school also receives meals during the summer. The Summer Meals Act would strengthen and expand access to nutritious meals for children during the summer months.
Feed the Future, which was created as a response to the 2008 food crisis, helps more than 7 million small-scale farmers increase crop production, and provides nutritious food to more than 12.5 million children around the world.
“Congress has an opportunity, this year, to pass legislation which directly impacts millions of children in the U.S. and abroad,” said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. “We thank all of the congressional leaders who are working tirelessly to ensure that ending hunger is a top priority. We know that you have a difficult task, but the faith community is behind you.”
Later this evening, Bread for the World will honor Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.), Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.), Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) for their continued leadership on issues impacting hungry and poor people in the United States and around the world.
Afghanistan would be considered likely to have high rates of hunger because at least two of the major causes of global hunger affect it—armed conflict and fragile governmental institutions.
Malnutrition is responsible for nearly half of all preventable deaths among children under 5. Every year, the world loses hundreds of thousands of young children and babies to hunger-related causes.
Bread for the World is calling on the Biden-Harris administration and Congress to build a better 1,000-Days infrastructure in the United States.
“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in faith.” These words from Colossians 2:6 remind us of the faith that is active in love for our neighbors.
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The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is designed to respond to changes in need, making it well suited to respond to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bread for the World and its partners are asking Congress to provide $200 million for global nutrition.
In 2017, 11.8 percent of households in the U.S.—40 million people—were food-insecure, meaning that they were unsure at some point during the year about how they would provide for their next meal.