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Coronavirus Response

For action you can take to protect vulnerable populations on the COVID-19 public health crisis, go to bread.org/coronavirus. View state responses for Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

2020 Offering of Letters

• Urge your members of Congress to increase funding for nutrition programs at home and abroad. Call (800-826-3688) or email your members of Congress and urge them to end child malnutrition abroad and end summer hunger in the United States.
• Bread for the World's 2020 Offering of Letters to Congress: Better Nutrition, Better Tomorrow urges Congress to pass legislation that provides nutrition for vulnerable people in the United States and abroad. Our faith calls us to stand alongside women and children around the world. Our government should provide leadership toward a well-nourished world.

For more information on this issue:

• The 2020 Offering of Letters Campaign: Better Nutrition, Better Tomorrow
• The U.S. Contribution to Ending Hunger

The Global Nutrition Resolution

• Call (800-826-3688) or email your representative and urge them to cosponsor and pass the Global Nutrition Resolution (H. Res. 189).
• The Senate has passed its version of the Global Nutrition Resolution (S. Res. 260). Keep up the momentum and urge House members to finish the job. The bipartisan global nutrition resolutions recognize the importance of continued U.S. leadership to accelerate global progress against maternal and child malnutrition.
• Thank your senators for passing (S.Res.260), especially if they were a cosponsor. You can view a current list of House cosponsors (H.Res.189) here.

For more information on this issue:

• Senate Passes Resolution Supporting U.S. Leadership on Global Nutrition

Watch for action alerts. For additional talking points, contact organizing@bread.org or call 800-822-7323.

Stay Informed

April and May Online Meetings

During the public health crisis develops and there are other ways to make an impact, Bread for the World organizers will keep you informed and connected at the regional level. In the next few weeks, your regional organizer would like to invite you to an online meeting.

• Eastern Regional Online Conversation with Margaret Tran
  Monday, March 30, 6 p.m. ET. RSVP to mtran@bread.org for meeting code
  (CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT)
• Southeast Regional Online Conversation with Min. David Street
  Thursday, April 2, 2 p.m. ET, RSVP to dstreet@bread.org for meeting code
  (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
• Western Regional Online Conversation with Clark Hansen
  Tuesday, April 7, 10 a.m. PT, RSVP to chansen@bread.org for meeting code
  (AK, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY)
• Southwest Regional Online Conversation with Lupe Conchas
  Thursday, April 2, 7 p.m. CT/6 p.m. MT, RSVP to lconchas@bread.org for meeting code
  (AZ, NM, OK, TX)
• Midwest Regional Organizer Online Conversation with Zach Schmidt
  Wednesday, April 8, 1:00 p.m. ET/Noon CT.
  (OH, MI, IN, IL, MO, KS, NE, IA, ND, SD, MN, WI)
  View recording »

In addition, organizers will host a series a series of regional webinars in May to give you an update on the Offering of Letters campaign in your area and equip you with the resources and information you need. Dates and links to register can be found here.

If you have questions, contact organizing@bread.org or call 800-822-7323.

Activists in Action

Letter-writing amid Covid-19

Growing advocacy is as important as ever.

“Coronavirus and social distancing changes the way we do things, but not why,” said Matt Gross, director of organizing at Bread for the World.

A record-breaking number of people are losing incomes and livelihoods daily, while hardship increases for the 37.2 million Americans who already struggle to put food on the table.

“The coronavirus is not just a health crisis, it is a hunger crisis,” said Gross.

Sheltering in place from makeshift home offices and kitchen tables across the nation, organizers and their grassroots leaders are finding new and creative ways to congregate, advocate, and to facilitate activities like the Offering of Letters—Bread’s signature letter-writing campaign.

Covid-19 is a bump, not a barrier for faithful leadership—and leaders are stepping up and pushing forward amid this crisis.

“Working apart doesn’t mean we can’t work together,” said California’s senior organizer, David Gist. Mid-March, he held an online gathering for 35 leaders to coordinate their advocacy and letter-writing strategy via video conference. “We are learning and improving as we embrace new technology, and I’m really impressed with how eager and adaptable CA leaders are to advocate.”

Adaptability best describes Bread Indiana’s strategy. The Central Indiana leadership team has perfected an ecumenical letter-writing campaign by coordinating multiple church writing events. Last year, the campaign produced 4,000 letters.

“When life gives you lemons, make a do-it-at-home Offering of Letters,” Dave Miner, team chair, told 50 Bread members during an online training last month.

Miner and his team have adjusted their campaign time frame, provided more options than just hand-written letters, and created a tiered system of recruiting letter writers through peer to peer relationships. Miner thinks they may find the new opportunities are even more impactful. “Different is powerful,” he said.

For Ohio-based organizer Nicole Schmidt, flexibility is guiding principle.

“We don’t know where we will be in two months,” said Schmidt, who is working with her leadership team to ensure that participants without access to computers are still able to participate. They plan to go “old school” and use the church’s printed newsletter to build excitement and a sense of community. “We just need to get creative and think outside the box,” she said.

Even members of Congress are leaning into technology to meet with their constituents.

Sean Kim, student and a member of the Joshua Heart Foundation’s Bread advisory board was excited about a March meeting with his Congresswoman, Lois Frankel (Fl-21). He even planned the suit he would wear. The meeting was moved to video conference as concerns about the spread of contagion grew. “Although it was slightly disappointing that I wouldn’t be able to tell my teachers that I missed their classes to meet with a Congresswoman, I knew that participating in the call would be just as rewarding as meeting Mrs. Frankel in person,” he wrote.

“Crises like these put a fine light on the importance of leadership,” said Gross, who encourages Bread members to stay in touch with regional organizers and be ready to react to a fluid and changing political landscape.

Many organizers are holding online meetings in the next few weeks to talk about the impact of the virus on hunger and what advocates can do. Registration is also open for regional webinars in May.

Uncertainty about the future is no deterrent to people of faith who are compelled to advocate for a world without hunger. “We need to stay the course and stay on call,” said Gross.
 
For churches or individuals writing letters, Bread for the World has updated the sample letter to reflect advocacy that addresses hunger and the coronavirus. You can download the letter at the Offering of Letters toolkit webpage.

More Resources: Activist Tool Kit

The Activist Tool Kit is intended for new and current Bread grassroots hunger activists. It provides a set of how-to sheets for carrying out advocacy and fact sheets on the current issues Bread for the World is working on.

It's ideal as a starter toolkit for new Bread activists or as a set of updates for current activists. Form your own toolkit by printing out some or all of the sheets in the kit.

How-tos:

• How to Conduct an In-District Meeting with a Member of Congress (or the Staff)
• Effectively Using Public Meetings to Engage with Members of Congress
• Writing a Letter to the Editor of Your Local Newspaper
• Conducting an Offering of Letters

Issues-related pieces:

• Hunger and Poverty State Fact Sheets
• Fact Sheet: Why We Need $150 Million for Global Nutrition Programs
• Hunger by the Numbers (2017)
• Fact Sheet: Fortified for Life. How the U.S. Government Supports Global Nutrition
• Briefing Paper: A Multi-Sectoral Approach to Nutrition. Assessing USAID’s Progress
• Poverty-Focused Development Assistance (PFDA) 101
• The McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program
• Getting to Zero Hunger by 2030: Race, Poverty, and Hunger
• Mass Incarceration: A Major Cause of Hunger
• Border Policy: Addressing Root Causes of Hunger and Immigration
• Fact Sheet: Hunger and Poverty in the Indigenous Community
• Fact Sheet: Hunger and Poverty in the African American Community
• Fact Sheet: Hunger and Poverty in the Latino Community

Biblical resources:

• The Biblical Basis for Advocacy to End Hunger
• The Bible and Immigration Reform
• The Bible and Poverty-Focused Development Assistance
• The Bible and Mass Incarceration
• The Bible on Health as a Hunger Issue

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