Bread for the World 2025 Annual Report
Made for this moment.50 years and counting.
A Letter from Our President
Dear friend,
Bread for the World stands at the intersection of faith, advocacy, and action. Together with advocates like you, we work to ensure everyone has enough to eat. This has been our calling from the very beginning, and fifty years later, the vision of a world free from hunger continues to guide everything we do.
In 2025, the hunger and nutrition landscape shifted dramatically. Policy changes and funding cuts created hardship and uncertainty for families already struggling to make ends meet. Programs that millions rely on were suddenly at risk.
This year has been one of the most challenging in recent memory. Real harm was done, and millions felt the impact.
But you stood firm and spoke up with courage and conviction. And because you did, hundreds of millions of dollars for hunger and nutrition programs were protected.
As all of this unfolded, I was reminded again and again: Bread for the World was created fifty years ago for moments like this. Year after year, we have worked to advance legislation that reflects that truth.
Friend, this report is proof that your voice matters. With God’s help and your continued support, we will keep building on the firm foundation we have laid together over the last fifty years.
In service,
Rev. Eugene Cho
The Challenge
GLOBALLY
children suffer from severe acute malnutrition
children’s lives are claimed by hunger each year
of USAID programs – many of which address the vulnerability of children and their parents – were terminated
DOMESTICALLY
households were food insecure in 2024
of those households have children
was cut from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) over a 10-year period
The outlook for hunger and nutrition
policy in 2025 was bleak.
Then Bread advocates like
you raised your voices.
Policy Wins
International aid
Bread’s FY2025 appropriations goals were largely met: Global nutrition received $168 million, Feed the Future received $960 million, Food for Peace received $1.619 billion, and McGovern-Dole Food for Education received $240 million. Despite attempts to rescind this aid, Bread’s advocacy work protected it and ensured that a significant portion of funding was restored in FY2026.
Child Tax Credit (CTC)
Bread’s advocacy helped convince Congress to prevent CTC refundability amounts from reverting to pre-pandemic levels and to increase the per-child benefit from $2,000 to $2,200.
WIC
In 2024, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) served almost 40 percent of all infants in the U.S. Bread’s advocacy helped to secure full funding for WIC at $7.6 billion for FY2025. Bread advocacy also supported the continuing resolution that fully funded WIC for FY2026 at $8.2 billion.
You Showed Up
For 50 years and counting, Bread members and partners have continually met the moment and shown up with urgency and resolve to advocate for hunger and nutrition policy and programs. 2025 was no different.
450
congressional meetings in Washington, D.C.
Nearly 350
grassroots congressional meetings
150,000
personalized letters to 536 elected leaders in the House and Senate through 399 Offerings of Letters.
LETTER FROM OUR MANAGING DIRECTOR
Dear friends,
One of the great privileges of serving at Bread for the World is watching Bread members and advocates speak up together to end hunger.
When hundreds of Bread members from across the country gathered in Washington, D.C., for our 2025 Advocacy Summit, “Nourish Our Future,” they worshiped, learned about global child nutrition and humanitarian aid, and completed hands-on advocacy training from the Bread team. Then, I watched with admiration as they put that preparation and biblical principles into practice to speak with boldness about protecting hunger and nutrition programs for families in the U.S. and around the world.
The 2025 Advocacy Summit marked Bread for the World’s 50th anniversary; five decades of faithful advocates speaking up to members of Congress from both parties to end hunger and give struggling families a chance to flourish. As we see the work that is still ahead of us, this foundation of advocacy and unity—built by Bread members speaking up year after year—encourages me.
Whether you were with us at the Summit or writing letters and giving faithfully from your church back home, thank you. Your advocacy is a precious gift and more important than ever.
With gratitude,
Rev. Heather Taylor
Managing Director
Bread for the World
Nourish Our Future
The Nourish Our Future campaign is designed to address child hunger in the United States and around the world through meaningful policy solutions.
At an event on Capitol Hill to kick off the campaign, Republicans and Democrats in Congress shared promises to strengthen the Child Tax Credit, WIC, SNAP, and global nutrition programs.
REP. JAHANA HAYES (D-CT-05)
“Hungry kids don’t learn. And everybody eats. So every single one of us should have an interest in food, in food security, and national security.”
REP. DARIN LAHOOD (R-IL-16)
“We must do better when it comes to prioritizing federal policy aimed at addressing the global nutrition crisis. The work that all of you do…is pivotal as we continue to consider public policy proposals in Congress.”
Advocacy Summit 2025
In June, more than 450 Bread advocates united in Washington, D.C., during Bread’s 50th anniversary year for our annual Advocacy Summit.
We gathered to worship, learn, and raise our voices in the halls of Congress to support policies—like SNAP, WIC, and global nutrition assistance—that give children and families in the U.S. and around the world a real chance at a healthy, hunger-free future.
Students Speak Up
An estimated 23 percent (3.8 million) of college students experienced food insecurity in 2020.
At the Advocacy Summit, college students who advocate with Bread shared powerful testimonies and amplified the need for better access to SNAP on college campuses.
Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) attended the student event, and later that week, she introduced a bill in Congress to help college students access SNAP benefits. Students also met with Senator John Boozman (R-AR), Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, to hand-deliver their appeals for student access to SNAP benefits.
A Legacy of Support
Leota Ester has been a supporter of Bread for the World for nearly our entire existence. We are grateful for the many ways she has served the organization, including a term as a member of our board. This is her story.
What first drew you to Bread for the World?
The way I suppose most people are drawn — a friend. A friend who was really committed to Bread was a member of our church, and she introduced all of us.
That was the early ’70s. What kept you connected all this time?
The hunger. I’ve taught, and I remember there were children who, by the time eleven o’clock came, they were not paying attention. I knew it was because they were hungry.
Is there anything else you want people to know?
I think it’s so important for us to believe that our…single voices put together make a difference in the world.
LETTER FROM OUR VICE PRESIDENT
This report is more than a record of what happened last year—it’s a testament to what becomes possible when faithful advocates and generous donors move together toward a common purpose.
Your generosity helped ensure that grassroots voices reached the halls of Congress, policies that protect families from hunger were strengthened, and communities that too often feel overlooked know they are seen, heard, and represented.
Together, we are building something both steady and powerful: a broad, diverse coalition of people who believe that hunger is solvable and that every person deserves enough to eat. After fifty years of work, we are seeing momentum—more members joining the movement, stronger partnerships, and deeper policy impact. None of that happens without your philanthropic leadership.
Your partnership funds the advocacy, sustains the mission, and sends a message that ending hunger is possible.
Thank you for being at the center of this mission. We are grateful for your trust, your leadership, and your belief in what we can accomplish together.
With deep appreciation,
Vila-Sheree Watson
Vice President for Development & Membership
Bread for the World
