Bread for the World

Bread for the World is a non-partisan, Christian citizens' movement in the United States trying to end hunger. Each year, Bread for the World invites churches to take up a nationwide Offering of Letters to Congress on an issue that is important to hungry people.

This year, the main issue is the farm bill. Bread for the World believes the final legislation must include the following provisions: authorize local and regional procurement; improve food aid quality and measure nutrition outcomes; allow flexibility in resource allocation; end the monetization requirement; allocate resources according to global needs; and reduce the impact of agricultural preference on food aid programs.

For the past 25 years, Miami’s Bread for the World efforts are run from St. Louis Church (7270 SW 120th Street in Pinecrest). There, Pinecrest Councilman James McDonald and Community Activist Peter England are among several passionate Bread for the World parishioners. They rally the community to hand-write letters to each of their members of Congress as well as to their Senators. “We generate about 1500 letters a year,” explained England. “Having them hand-written creates real impact when they are.” McDonald added, “We write more letters than any other parish in the entire United States. And, this is a vitally important program that helps against hunger.”

Father Paul Vuturo remarked, “Church is good at charity work that helps people already in need. This is more of a work of justice so that we don’t have so many people in need.”

Even the children understand their importance. 11-year old Veronica Gonzalez wrote several letters, “I’m writing letters to encourage our Congress people to help end hunger.”

Bread for the World has mobilized individuals, churches and other organizations to advocate for programs that have helped to reduce hunger both domestically and internationally. Their goal is to eliminate hunger by 2030. You can find out more at www.bread.org.

VIDEO STORY