When a disaster strikes — such as 2013’s typhoon in the Philippines, or 2010’s earthquake in Haiti, or the crisis in Syria — people overseas receive emergency food from the United States. Our federal government also provides ongoing food aid to address the “silent disaster” of hunger and malnutrition around the world. This food aid helps break the cycle of poverty and hunger and puts people and communities on better economic footing.
Bread for the World advocated on reforms to the U.S. government’s food-aid programs and policies in its 2014 Offering of Letters.
Smart reforms to food aid enable more food to be purchased closer to where the need is, rather than shipped slowly overseas from the U.S. This not only allows food to reach people in need months sooner, but also less is spent on transportation costs. Changes also ensure that vulnerable people get better nutrition in the food they receive, especially pregnant women and young children. Children need nutritious food so that they can get a healthy start in life. In addition to needed reforms, Bread also wants food-aid programs to continue to be fully funded.
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.