Bread for the World 2011

"Someone who sits down and writes a letter about hunger almost literally has to be saving a life."
Paul Simon - U.S. Senator from Illinois (1985-1997)

Would you save someone's life if you had the power?

And you do have the power! Many of us already help alleviate hunger by donating money or groceries to food banks but, with so many hungry people in the world, we would like to do more.

Bread for the World. . .

is a collective Christian voice urging our nation's decision makers to help end hunger at home and abroad. The 2011 BFW Offering of Letters urges Congress and the administration to press forward with reforms to make U.S. foreign assistance more effective in reducing poverty. These reforms will help millions of people move out of hunger and poverty. The main driver of poverty reduction in the world is the hard work of poor people themselves. Given the opportunity to improve their communities and provide a better life for their children, they will seize it. We need to make sure U.S. foreign aid reaches those who need it most and that it supports their efforts to lift themselves, their families, and their communities out of poverty.

Over the last decade...

Bread for the World members have helped increase U.S. funding for assistance programs that are focused on reducing hunger and poverty and promoting economic development in poor countries. These programs have reduced the rate of chronically hungry people in developing countries from 20 percent to 16 percent. More recently, Bread members have worked to reform U.S. foreign assistance to make international development-specifically the reduction of world hunger-a higher priority for the U.S. government. Our government has been leading an international initiative to strengthen agriculture and improve nutrition in poor countries. The U.S. component of this initiative is called Feed the Future, but its funding was cut severely in the recent budget compromise.

Maintaining funding...

and implementing reforms in U.S. foreign assistance will mean more help to millions of hungry and poor people for many years to come. It is also an efficient use of our tax money. Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, recently stated that "helping countries develop is a lot cheaper than sending soldiers." In this time of budget cuts, improving the quality and efficacy of aid programs will strengthen the case for generosity and maximize the use of our current aid dollars.

Offering of Letters Sunday - TBA

Hope Lutheran will have an Offering of Letters. Please stop by or Bread for the World table and send a letter to your Senator or Congressman. We will have form letters available for you to sighn or you can compose your own. Your letter is important. You can learn more about letter writing by going to offeringofletters.org .

Find more information at www.bread.org.