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Anti-Hunger Groups Hoping For Action on Stalled Farm Bill

By Heather Donckels
Religion News Service
Saturday, November 24, 2007; Page B09

As millions of Americans stocked their kitchens for their Thanksgiving feast, many religious and other groups were concerned about those who will go hungry this holiday weekend and in the weeks and months to come.

Rising food prices make it harder for families to put food on the table and more difficult for food banks to keep their shelves stocked. Advocates say the farm bill stalled in the Senate would help fix part of the problem.

"We need for Congress to pass a farm bill this year," said Maura Galy, vice president of government relations for America's Second Harvest, the largest food bank network in the country.

The bill, which passed the House, would increase the amount of mandatory funding to the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which aids food banks, from $140 million to $250 million annually, Galy said.

Catholic Charities USA released a report on Nov. 15 that showed that the number of people receiving food from church-affiliated agencies increased by 2.7 million between 2002 and 2006, and that many agencies struggle to provide food for their clients.

Catholic Charities has joined Bread for the World, which identifies itself as "a nationwide Christian movement that seeks justice for the world's hungry people by lobbying our nation's decision makers," in its goal to cut poverty in half by 2020. Their Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America is asking the government "to give the needs of the poor a higher priority in budget and policy decisions."

Jean Daniel, spokeswoman for the Department of Agriculture, said "we're very concerned about the people who live in food insecure households."
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An Agricultural Department study, released Nov. 14, showed that the number of people living in U.S. households with "food insecurity" -- where their normal diets changed due to lack of food or money -- increased from 35.1 million in 2005 to 35.5 million in 2006.

Joining America's Second Harvest in its call for government intervention, the Bread for the World Institute released its annual hunger report on Monday calling for the United States to "make it a national goal to cut hunger and poverty in half by 2015."

The report applauded the government's recent decision to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour by July 2009, but stressed that low-income families also need access to affordable health insurance and child care.

"It is not up to government alone to do everything," the report said. "Employers, families and communities share the responsibility. But government must lead by example, setting policies that promote prosperity for all, not just a few."

In a news conference last week the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty and the National Coalition for the Homeless released a report that chided 22 cities for new laws that they say punish individuals and groups who feed the homeless in public areas.

In Dallas, for example, "anyone caught sharing food with a homeless person without a permit may be fined up to $2,000 and/or jailed for up to six months," the report said.

"We need to encourage, not arrest, good Samaritans," said Michael Stoops, the acting executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless.

The report offered the city of Cleveland as a positive model for other cities to follow. Instead of punishing organizations for feeding the homeless, the city collaborated with those organizations to deal with the problem of hunger.

"The holiday season should be a time of joy and celebration," said the president of Catholic Charities, the Rev. Larry Snyder, "but instead it is often difficult for the hungry, the homeless and the working poor."

Anti-Hunger Groups Hoping For Action on Stalled Farm Bill (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/23/AR2007112301548.html?hpid=sec-religion)

Not only are alot of the homeless veterans, but a large percentage are mentally off and really should be in mental institutes.

Government officials who cook up hair brained ideas like a $2k fine or jail time for sharing food with a homeless person should be careful lest they find themselves homeless and in need of the very charity they have worked hard to outlaw.

This is.......... government bureaucracy at its finest. :'(

Urumph.  Well, isn't that something?  One of the very few times, as you all well know, that I am at a loss for words.  Of all the idiotic things that I've ever heard of...
Almost, maybe not quite, well as long as there was no violence....but almost makes you want to see them get mugged on the way home and have to figure out how they are going to get there.  I mean with; no car, no money, no cell phone and oops, the muggers took their shoes too!

Even when you have nothing to say you still are able to get to the point.   ;) :D :D :D

I'm afraid that I would be in serious trouble all of the time if I lived in Dallas.

It's a gift.  ;D  I just can't help myself, can I?  ::)

Yep.   ;D

Me too my Brother.  I've been homeless.  And I mean really homeless.  My shelter was a bunch of tarps hung up for protection from the weather.  That's when I entered the Mission that I am now working at.  I spent 3 years at that mission getting my life together and now I'm giving back to the homeless women and children that are there now.  I have also boughten meals for others.
I so believe without a doubt that this is where God wants me and I'd just like to see someone tell me that I couldn't do it.
It would be one of those, "my dad is bigger than your dad" things!  Not to mention my German, Scot and Irish ancestory kicking up!

You know Pastor, and this is a different subject here and I want to share it with you; but I've had a pretty tough life, as many of us have I'm sure.  I have kept my feminity as it were, but I've had to take care of myself and while I have a lot of sensitivity and HUGE heart, I'm also one tough cookie.  Especially when I see injustice.  Maybe because I've lived injustice.  Injustice and blatant ignorance just drive me wild.  And we already know that I have a mouth!  :D
And I really don't know where I'm going with that.  Just sharing I suppose.  It is my prayer however that God will help me use this combination, that is me, to His advantage.

In Christ,
Yvette

With God on your side you will be a winner. I am sure also that He has you in that job for a very good reason.

I am glad that you shared that with us. Yes, many of us have had a rough life. My wife and I were also homeless along with three children and three dogs. We did have a station wagon though and fortunately our children were able to stay in a friends home for awhile so actually it was just my wife and I with the dogs. My wife was handicapped and I had just got out of a hospital from a minor heart attack. We were able to get into government housing right away and are still here 8 yrs later. I do believe that God led us here for a reason. That reason has been in helping the people that live here, especially the kids. There are so many children in this project that needs help. Drugs, alcohol, single parents that allow their children out unsupervised at all hours of the night and so much more. Two boys that we have been helping had a father that was in and out of jail and died from drug use. The mother lays around the house making the boys do all the work. She has been arrested for shop lifting, selling prescription drugs, driving without a license, the list goes on. She also made the boys do such things so she could have the money. The older boy is in jail now for a crime she committed. Last night she called the police on the younger one because he refused to do what she wanted him to. Just today we managed to get it arranged now for the younger boy to be with his Uncle that is a good Christian man. It is what the boy wanted. He is a good kid and doesn't want to live that kind of life. My wife led him to Christ just a few days ago. I could tell many more of these stories but I'm sure it would take a book or three.

Sister, there is always a reason for the things that we must go through even though sometimes we may never know those reasons.

ohhh man.. this just infuriates me.. af all the stupid, underhanded , idiotic things for a government to do, it seriously blows my mind.. Im guessing none of the idiots that let this law past has any first hand knowledge of how it feels to be homeless and or destitue etc..or have anyone in thier family in that situation cause i garuntee u if they had to live one night and day  that way they'd be hollering for a change immediately.. It blows my mind the ignorance of some people.. Who on earth are they that they shouls persume to think of themsleves that far above it ever happening to them..hmm ok need to take a deep breath here.. I normally dont post much when it comes to politics etc but this caught my eye and sent me into a spin...a permit..ohh man and everyone knows to get a flippin permit isnt exactly easy , takes time, people could die and or be starving by time u get the flippin permit.. I aint ever heard of anything so foolish, maybe these here same folks that passed this law need to get a permit to eat themselves with teh  fear of a huge fine or JAIL TIME (imagine.. good heavens) hanging over thier head if they aint done got thier permit to eat that week!! Drives me crazy when i hear of rediculus things like that passed and or fought for by people that have never once been in the footsteps of the people that are and have gone thru whatever that particual issue is..IM thinking before they are allowed to pass such crap, they need to be made to live it for a month, whatever the issue at hand is.. im betting things would  change.. bet they'd decide that wasnt exactly FUn to live thru!!
ok so i wasnt gonna say much but my goodness...Ya know.. Ya done even have to have a permit to feed a DOG.. yet u need one to feed a homless PERSON.. something seriously wrong with that picture.!!!!! >:(

Thank you.


Praise God!  I just love hearing about another added to the flock!  I am so glad that you and your wife were able to help get him to his uncle!  Those poor kids.


I know that is true and it makes me ecstatically happy that he chose me!  That He loves me no matter what my past held.  And that it can all be used now for His glory!  Amen.   ;D

That's a good one!  And, sadly, true.

I wouldn't have a clue about the logic on this one. If someone was trying to kill homeless people by giving them poison in the food, there would be numerous laws that already apply with extremely harsh penalties.

In fact, any attempt to harm these homeless people in any way would involve already existing laws with harsh penalties. So, I can't think of a single excuse for a law like this. There would also be already existing laws that cover food safety and health standards, so discrimination against the homeless appears to be the only purpose of this law.

The only other thing that I can think of is health permits required for persons handling and preparing food in commercial eating establishments. This amounts to tests for various communicable diseases and a written test that pertains to common sense food handling. The written test would cover things like washing your hands, keeping the food preparation area clean, and other common sense things. The cost of this permit barely covers the blood tests, but this does not appear to be the type of permit they're talking about.

This appears to be specifically written to prevent people from helping the homeless. In the absence of any other explanation, I would consider this to be bone-headed, cruel, and inhuman. If the city planned to enforce such a cruel law, they should handle the appropriate feeding of the homeless themselves. I'll speak for my city and say that most public employees have fed the homeless out of their own pockets and would have to be arrested under this law. That would include police officers. It would also include almost every church in town. The bottom line is they would have to arrest almost everyone with a HEART. In short, this cruel law appears to be for the sole purpose of removing hope of getting food and causing the homeless to leave or starve to death.