Summer 2006, Volume 11 Number 3

Table of Contents

Those concerned about the hunger problem sometimes feel overwhelmed and at a loss to determine how best to address it.  All of us, of course, can volunteer at soup kitchens and food pantries or financially support organizations (e.g., Oxfam) that have excellent track records in addressing the needs of the poor.  But as we read the headlines about hunger and AIDS in Africa and see poverty rates once again on the rise in the United States, a question comes to mind: What else can we do about hunger?  This is precisely the question that led to the establishment, more than thirty years ago, of Bread for the World.

The story begins on the Lower East Side of New York City, where the Reverend Art Simon became pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in the 1960s.  This was a time when hunger was gaining national visibility through President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty.  But Art Simon did not have to look to Washington, D.C., to discover poverty and hunger – it was all around him, everywhere in the surrounding neighborhood.  Along with many other churches, Trinity reached out to provide direct assistance to those in need. 

As time went on, however, it became clear to all those involved that the problem was too large to be solved by local efforts alone.  They came to understand that the effectiveness of their work was influenced, either positively or negatively, by decisions made in Washington, D.C., and concluded, as Art Simon once put it, that the response to hunger must “walk on two legs,” both direct service and citizen action to influence public policy.  Discussions continued on the Lower East Side about how best to mobilize citizen action.  The outcome was the founding in 1974 of Bread for the World as a nationwide citizens’ lobby against hunger, with Art Simon serving as its first president. Today Bread is a movement of 50,000 people of faith and 2,500 churches.

Each year Bread for the World carefully considers which issue to select for an “Offering of Letters” campaign, choosing specific legislation or other public policy action both for its impact on reducing hunger and for the likelihood of its adoption.  The national staff informs Bread members of key decision points during the year, when they are asked to contact – by letters, phone calls or office visits – their members of Congress or other public officials.  Through these efforts and the support of other groups that work in coalition with Bread for the World (e.g., RESULTS), it is not unusual for 100,000 letters to be generated to members of Congress.

And the good news is that these efforts bear fruit.  A glance at Bread for the World’s website shows a list of significant legislative victories for poor and hungry people in which Bread played a lead or supporting role, including: increased funding for the WIC program and the food stamp program (1997), the restoration of food stamps for 250,000 vulnerable legal immigrants – children, elderly and disabled people – and increased aid for small-scale farmers and struggling rural communities in Africa (1998), debt relief to the world’s poorest countries enabling them to invest more in health, education and agricultural development (1999 and 2000), the largest funding increase in decades in poverty-focused development assistance (2003), and a $1 billion increase in funding for the Millennium Challenge Account and the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria (2004).  Still pending before Congress are the Hunger Free Communities Act, introduced in 2005, that would commit the nation to ending hunger in the United States and provide funding to local groups to end hunger in their communities, and the 2006 Offering of Letters campaign that seeks a significant increase in poverty-focused development assistance to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

Bread for the World provides a practical way for average citizens to have an impact on domestic and international hunger.  There is an “Action This Month” section in each newsletter, a link to “Take Action” on the website and the opportunity to subscribe to “Fresh Bread,” an email newsletter that provides up-to-the-moment legislative updates and action alerts.  Bread for the World members also spread the word about the hunger problem through letters to the editor, op ed pieces and editorial board meetings.  Bread’s partner organization, the Bread for the World Institute, carries out research and education on hunger.  The Institute’s annual Hunger Report strengthens the anti-hunger movement through analysis of the causes and solutions of hunger.

To learn more about Bread for the World and how to become an effective citizen advocate against hunger, go to www.bread.org or telephone 1-800-82-BREAD.

                Dr. Martin C. Fergus is Associate Professor and Associate Chair of the Political Science Department at Fordham University, Bronx, NY. He is a member of the KIDS Advisory Board, and has been a Bread for the World member and activist since 1976.  From 1989-1994 he was a member of Bread’s national board of directors.

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