At St. John’s we help hungry people by our contributions of food and money to our local food banks and to families in need in our East Penn School District, and through our contributions to our local CROP Walk and to the ELCA’s World Hunger Relief. For the last several years we have also helped hungry people by participating in Bread for the World’s “Offering of Letters.”
Bread for the World is a 40-year-old non-partisan Christian citizen’s movement urging our nation’s decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad. Last fall in our “Offering of Letters” we asked Congress to pass a Farm Bill that will help diminish hunger both domestically and abroad. The Farm Bill is usually renewed every five years. How does the Farm Bill do this? Nearly three fourths of the bill’s funding goes to nutrition programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP- formerly known as food stamps). The bill includes funding for the Food for Peace program that addresses hunger internationally
Unfortunately the current Congress has not renewed the Farm Bill. Bread for the World believes that the Farm Bill has traditionally been a bi-partisan piece of legislation that can help kickstart bi-partisan collaboration and help restore our food system. Bread for the World staff will be conducting several legislative actions around the Farm Bill in March, and the pressure that an Offering of Letters provides to the members of Congress will help strengthen our push to get a Farm Bill on the table. There is no guarantee that a Farm Bill will be passed before 2025, but we believe there is a good chance that we can get a draft of the bill out before May.
A sample letter that you can use is printed on the last page of this insert. Insert the correct addresses for our members of Congress that are printed below the letter. A paragraph is included in the sample letter that refers to some of the ways our congregation helps people dealing with hunger in our community. Feel free to revise it so that it reflects your own perspectives and experiences.
If you have any questions or concerns about this program, feel free to talk with one of the Outreach Committee members: Audra Berner, Martie Dech, Faith Drescher, Cheryl Kraemer, Roger Timm and Deb Yoder.
Bread for the World appreciates knowing how many letters are sent to Congress. If you write a letter, please tell the church office or Pastor Timm (rmtemmaus@gmail.com) how many letters you wrote and to whom you sent them. Thank you!
View a sample letter (PDF): Sample letter