In 1941, following a speech by the African American civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph, President Franklin D. Roosevelt remarked, “You know, Mr. Randolph, I’ve heard everything you’ve said tonight, and I couldn’t agree with you more. I agree with everything that you’ve said, including my capacity to be able to right many of these wrongs and to use my power and the bully pulpit. ... But I would ask one thing of you, Mr. Randolph, and that is go out and make me do it.”
Industry groups spend vast sums of money to affect policy in ways that serve their own interests, regardless of whether the greater public good will be served. While it’s easy to be cynical about politics in the United States, it still holds true that citizens, when we organize and speak with one voice against social and economic injustice, also have tremendous influence. Average citizens have far more power than we sometimes realize to influence what policymakers are willing to do.
During Lobby Day 2009, the Bread for the World California delegation met with Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) to thank him for his support of foreign assistance reform.
Every member of U.S. society, including people who do not see themselves as leaders in a traditional sense, can play a role in holding government and other institutions accountable to moral standards. An individual may feel isolated, but working together with like-minded people across the nation and the world multiplies one’s impact. Participating in building the common good can also be personally satisfying and contribute to one’s own sense of wholeness, community, and spirituality.
Since its founding 36 years ago, Bread for the World has provided citizens with a way to raise our collective voices, amplifying a simple message that hunger is unacceptable anywhere. Bread for the World helps people do as President Roosevelt advised—go out and make elected officials do something about hunger. In the years to come, as the country recovers from this painful recession, Bread for the World will continue to remind policymakers not to forget about poverty and hunger, persistently poor communities, and the stubborn inequalities that keep people from participating fully in society.
The Reverend Arthur Simon, Bread for the World’s founder and first president, explained the organization’s raison d’être in his 2009 book The Rising of Bread for the World. “Why would an organization on world hunger deal with political and economic issues? Precisely because we want to show the link between hunger and poverty, between hunger and injustice. … Enabling hungry people to feed themselves means dealing with the root causes of hunger. That requires us to help shape government policies, for U.S. policies often vitally affect the world’s hungry. Bread for the World wants to organize citizen participation from within the churches on their behalf.”
Bread for the World is a collective Christian voice urging the nation’s decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad. By changing policies, programs, and conditions that allow hunger and poverty to persist, people like you can provide help and opportunity far beyond the community where you live.
Bread for the World members write letters to Congress in support of hunger-fighting legislation.
Bread for the World works in a bipartisan way and enjoys the support of many different church bodies. Working through churches, campuses and other organizations, Bread for the World builds the political commitment needed to overcome hunger and poverty.
One reason Bread for the World has flourished for decades is the educational materials developed by its secular partner, Bread for the World Institute. The Institute was established to provide the analysis and intellectual underpinning of Bread for the World’s core work, advocacy on behalf of hungry and poor people wherever they may be. The annual Hunger Reports serve as a resource for all who want to understand the root causes of hunger and how to address them.
This report, A Just and Sustainable Recovery, builds on the domestic poverty analysis in the 2008 report, Working Harder for Working Families. The earlier report focused on working poor families and the ways federal policies can help reduce poverty and economic insecurity. Our current report refers to some of these same policies, but takes a broader view of the U.S. economy. In the midst of the worst recession since the Great Depression, the United States finds itself at a crossroads: Will it continue to walk down a path of widening socioeconomic inequality, or will it make the necessary investments to ensure everyone is included in the recovery? With the right leadership and policies, this can be a just and sustainable recovery for all.
By reading this report, you have added to your knowledge about hunger and its causes. We hope you will use what you’ve learned and share it with others. This report is available online at www.hungerreport.org, where you will find other resources to augment what is included in the printed edition.
Ending hunger and poverty may seem like a monumental task, but in the end it comes down to political will, i.e. do we want to do it? Changing the political dynamics on these issues starts right within our own circles of family and friends and spreads from there to our communities and beyond. By sharing this report with others, you can help mobilize the political will needed to end hunger and poverty in this country and around the world.
How to become more involved:
Become a member of Bread for the World by visiting our Web site (www.bread.org) or calling 1-800-82-BREAD. As a member, you will receive up-to-date information about how you can communicate with your elected representatives and help shape hunger-related legislation. Your financial contributions also help to change policies in ways that benefit hungry people worldwide.
Involve your church. Each year, more than a thousand churches hold an “Offering of Letters” to Congress. Just as churches take up offerings of money to help people in need, these churches invite their members to write to Congress on a Bread issue.
Become an activist. You can join or form a Bread for the World group in your church or community. Some groups meet just a few times a year to take specific action, such as visiting their members of Congress or planning a workshop for local congregations. In most congressional districts, volunteers have organized telephone trees to mobilize action at key points in the legislative process.
