Bread for the World
Encyclopedia
Bread for the World is a non-partisan, Christian
citizens' movement in the United States
to end hunger. The organization describes itself as a collective Christian voice urging nation's decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad. By changing policies, programs, and conditions that allow hunger and poverty to persist, it provides help and opportunity far beyond the communities in which they live.
s and Protestants met to reflect on how persons of faith could be mobilized to influence U.S. policies that address the causes of hunger. Under the leadership of the Reverend Arthur Simon
, the group began to test the idea in the spring of 1974. By year's end, more than 500 people had joined the ranks of Bread for the World as citizen advocates for hungry people.
In September 1991, the Reverend David Beckmann succeeded Simon as president.
Bread for the World is a founding member of The ONE Campaign—a movement to rally Americans to respond to the global emergencies of extreme poverty, hunger and AIDS
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Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
citizens' movement in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to end hunger. The organization describes itself as a collective Christian voice urging nation's decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad. By changing policies, programs, and conditions that allow hunger and poverty to persist, it provides help and opportunity far beyond the communities in which they live.
History
In October 1972, a small group of CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
s and Protestants met to reflect on how persons of faith could be mobilized to influence U.S. policies that address the causes of hunger. Under the leadership of the Reverend Arthur Simon
Arthur Simon
Arthur Simon ) is founder and president emeritus of Bread for the World, where he served for almost two decades.-Career:...
, the group began to test the idea in the spring of 1974. By year's end, more than 500 people had joined the ranks of Bread for the World as citizen advocates for hungry people.
In September 1991, the Reverend David Beckmann succeeded Simon as president.
Bread for the World is a founding member of The ONE Campaign—a movement to rally Americans to respond to the global emergencies of extreme poverty, hunger and AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
.
Initiatives
Each year, Bread for the World invites churches across the country to take up an nationwide Offering of Letters to Congress on an issue that is important to hungry people. Since 1974 the Offering of Letters campaign has focused on a different hunger issue each year; 2007's campaign was called Seeds of Change: Help Farmers End Hunger and aimed to provoke the reform of the U.S. Farm BillFarm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002
The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, also known as the 2002 Farm Bill, includes ten titles, addressing a great variety of issues related to agriculture, ecology, energy, trade, and nutrition....
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