Bread for the World: A Different Path for Serving

“Speak out for the rights of all who are destitute. Defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
– Proverbs 31:8-9

The name Bread for the World brings to mind legions of folks collecting food and carrying it to hungry people across the globe. This has a certain appeal to it, since we all want to be part of something larger than ourselves, and as Christians, we long to live out the words of Jesus when he said, “I was hungry and you fed me.” But Bread for the World serves hungry people in a different way.

On the website www.bread.org, Bread for the World is defined as “a collective Christian voice urging our nation’s decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad.” That “collective Christian voice” comes in the form of Letter Offerings…thousands of letters to Congress from Christians on topics related to hunger and poverty, advocating for policies that serve people in need. In recent years Westminster has participated in letter offerings focused on increased funding for child nutrition, SNAP (food stamps), support for global nutrition, and concern for climate change.

Westminster has a long history of service to the poor, such as gathering and even growing food and giving it to hungry neighbors through food banks and other agencies. This kind of direct involvement feeds our spirit. But as Bread past president Rev. David Beckman reports in a Christian Century article (link below), “We cannot food-bank our way out of hunger…all the food that churches and charities provide to hungry people is only about 6 percent of what is provided by federal government nutrition programs.” Still, we as Americans can use our citizenship to serve others by calling on our congress to shape laws to benefit the poorest among us.

People sometimes react to this by saying “Oh, no, now that’s getting political.” But political is not the same as partisan. We are pledged to be non-partisan, focusing on policies and not parties. We intend to advocate for policies that serve people in need, irrespective of which political party might benefit from that advocacy. And we take care to write to our legislators on both sides of the aisle.

So what does a letter offering at Westminster look like? We set up tables after services in the north entry and the Bridge with background information on the issue of choice. We provide sample letters which can be signed as is or personalized. Envelopes, stamps, and address labels for all the appropriate legislators are provided. And since not everyone can identify their representative, we have a map showing congressional districts. It’s a wonderful kind of chaos with people finding their representatives, checking addresses, stamping envelopes, and sorting out what they want to say. In these gatherings after worship, Westminster members have contributed over 500 letters calling on Congress to shape policies that give the neediest among us a fair chance. Participants find a deep satisfaction that they have given the gift of their citizenship in the service of others.

Not every letter directly addresses food policy. Many factors determine food security, such as climate, wages, mass incarceration, schools, and racial issues. Lately Bread has focused on racial justice, and particularly the rather striking difference in accumulated wealth between Black and White families. Their research arm, Bread for the World Institute, has developed a wonderfully instructive exercise, the Racial Wealth Gap Simulation, to help us understand the origins of this inequity. On February 6 from 2:30 until 4:30 p.m. in Fellowship Hall, you are invited to gather around tables to explore this history.

– Bobbie Hartman, Outreach Commission

christiancentury.org/blogs/archive/2013-07/doing-math-churches-and-food-stamps