Advocacy update
On Sunday, June 9, a St. Luke’s Missions team made up of staff/Mission Intern and 6 current and previous Circle Leaders from West Orange Circle are traveling to DC to participate in Bread’s Advocacy Summit. St. Luke’s is a major sponsor of West Orange Circle, and we are excited to create pathways for Circle Leaders to advocate for themselves, their families, and their community. If you would like to join a group who will send encouraging messages/devotional to the team daily, we will start our day with your messages. Please email Amy at asimon@st.lukes.org if you are interested in helping with daily devotions.
Offering of Letters
Offering of Letters is a powerful way of lending your voice to the fight against hunger. The best tool we have to end hunger here in our nation and globally is a set of safety net programs funded by our tax money. All charity organizations, food banks and faith houses combined provide only 1/10th of the supplemental food that our neighbors in Florida and around the nation require. The rest comes from federal programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP – previously food stamp), WIC (Women, Infants and Children), Summer EBT. When these programs work well as we saw during the pandemic, they have the power to move the needle on poverty for millions of our neighbors.
Using the template below, you can write your own powerful letters that will help continue this effort. If you feel so called, feel free to write multiple letters to your different leaders. Once you’ve written your letters, you can send them to St. Luke’s at 4851 S. Apopka Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL 32819 to the attention of Sanye Kazan or drop them off at St. Luke’s front desk so they can be delivered to our legislators in the coming weeks. If you’re passionate to be involved in such activism, please reach out to Sanye Kazan Director of Mission Engagement, at skazan@st.lukes.org
Check out the Offering of Letters page on Bread for the World’s website. You can opt in to be a member of Bread for the World so that you get updates and calls to action to end hunger for our neighbors near and far.
Template:
The farm bill is our nation’s most important national food system legislation. It is critical to the work of ending hunger at home and abroad. Indeed, the farm bill impacts each one of us.
As Congress works to renew our food and farm programs through the farm bill, I urge you to support legislation that builds healthy, equitable, and sustainable food systems.
Specifically, I ask you to:
● Protect SNAP from further restrictions.
● Increase funding for fresh produce within SNAP benefits through the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP).
● Reduce food waste by cosponsoring the Food Date Labeling Act, H.R.3159/S.1484.
● Reauthorize the Food for Peace global nutrition program at no less than its current level of $2.5 billion annually and allow additional flexibility to provide the most effective form of assistance in each local context.
[Add a sentence or two about why this is important to you. For example: As a member of St. Luke’s, I am moved to help and advocate for people experiencing hunger and poverty – no matter where they live. This is why I urge you to support a farm bill that builds healthy, equitable, and sustainable food systems.]
Sincerely,
[Your name] [Your address]”
Farm Bill Basics:
Bread for the World has specific legislative asks that we are advocating for in the newest Farm Bill, as seen in the template letter. By no means do you have to include all of the tasks in your letters, you are able to pick and choose what you want to include in your letter.
Policy Basics:
GusNIP: The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program provides SNAP recipients with resources on top of their SNAP benefits to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at participating farmers markets, farm stands, and grocery stores.
The Food Labeling Act: Is part of an ongoing effort to promote sustainability by eliminating food waste. The bill would create a federal standard for food date labels, creating a “BEST if Used By” label and a “USE BY” label. This will create labeling consistency across the country and reduce confusion in an effort to reduce food waste in the United States.
Find Your Senators/ Representatives:
For a pdf version of above information, click on the link below:
More Information
FRAC Federal Nutritions Programs Update – July 14, 2023