BREAD FOR THE WORLD DAY

This Sunday I am hoping that members of many congregations will be writing letters to Congress about global hunger. Two key issues involve our farm bill and the way we distribute food through our foreign aid programs. Within the farm bill, the SNAP program provides at least 1 in 7 Americans with food assistance. This program should not  be cut. The policy of subsidizing certain crops so that other nations cannot compete needs to be examined. The way that food is shipped to other countries as part of foreign aid programs also needs to be examined. Many times surplus but not best quality food is shipped at considerable expense to countries as part of an aid package. While this might be necessary in an emergency,  for lasting solutions growing food in the third world country, making microloans to farmers, bringing livestock to the country, planting trees, teaching farming methods, and locating water supplies that can make communities more stable seem to be better options.