Leaders of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have written to Congress asking them not to cut SNAP benefits.
You can do the same. The PC(USA) Office of Public witness makes it easy to share your thinking on how we care for our sisters and brothers.
I have done so. I hope you join me.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Current Events, Food, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Reposted from the Presbyterian News Service:
Dear Members of Congress:
We write as the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) concludes a week-long SNAP / Food Stamp Challenge in which we, the church’s national leaders, as well as hundreds of Presbyterians, chose to live on an average SNAP benefit, which nationally is about $30 per person per week. This practice is intended to raise awareness within our community about the dire food insecurity of many of our neighbors. We realize, of course, that our engaging in this Challenge is a symbolic gesture, but we also believe that it has meaning and capacity for building awareness of the very real need in our communities. We further recognize that our own reactions to living on SNAP benefit levels for a week – both psychological and physiological – cannot begin to approach the experience of a family that is relying for sustenance on these inadequate, and yet essential benefits.
Even as we learned this lesson, we acknowledge what privilege we have in bringing it to an end, in seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, in returning to our usual diets. So as we enter this festival of Thanksgiving, we give thanks for food and for all the ways that healthy food is available to each of us. And we give thanks for SNAP, which prevents so many Americans from falling into severe food insecurity. It is our prayer that we will change our food system so that no one in this wealthy nation will suffer hunger and that each and every person will have enough, not too little and not too much.
Through this SNAP Challenge, we learned in practice what we only previously knew intellectually – that far from needing to be cut, Food Stamp benefits are too low and need to be increased, especially in light of the recent Nov. 1st benefit cliff. So, we urge you to refrain from cutting SNAP, and instead to invest in this program that provides only the most basic assistance to struggling people in some of their darkest hours.
We further understand from partners in ministry that we, the churches that engage in ministries of charity and mercy cannot alone meet the overwhelming need created by cuts to federal safety net programs. Private charity needs public partnership in order to answer our call to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit those in prison. As earnestly as we try to fill gaps in services left by government spending cuts, we simply do not have the resources or capacity to respond to the growing and monumental need caused by a severe recession, anemic recovery, and systemic inequity.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) further has a long history of commitment to food justice and food system advocacy. In a letter sent earlier this year, we called for a “comprehensive Farm Bill that ensures access to food for hungry people, provides an ample safety net targeted to those small and mid-sized farmers who most need it, builds up rural communities and their economies, and protects the integrity of God’s creation through robust conservation programs and sustainable agriculture.”
Our nation’s food and farm policies, as embodied in the Farm Bill, impact people and communities from rural America to big cities to developing countries. In the current budget climate, the Farm Bill’s limited resources must be effectively targeted where need is the greatest. And people are hungry. In particular, we urge you to protect SNAP from cuts that will only make it harder for people to make ends meet, that will increase food insecurity, that will leave children hungry.
And as we observe the national festival devoted to giving thanks, we are thankful for functioning government, for leaders who devote their lives to public service, and for your own service to our nation.
Should you have any questions or wish to hear more about our reflections and learnings during the SNAP / Food Stamp Challenge, please contact our Office of Public Witness, Leslie Woods, Representative for Domestic Poverty and Environmental Issues.
Sincerely,
Reverend Gradye Parsons
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)Reverend Dr. Neal Presa
Moderator of the 220th General Assembly
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)Linda Valentine
Executive Director, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Filed under Current Events, Food, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Today on the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge, I contacted my Representative and Senators asking them to produce a faithful, fair Farm Bill that protects SNAP from harmful cuts, improves access to food and nutrition, promotes conservation and rural economic development, and implements commodity and crop insurance reforms. Congress is currently negotiating a final Farm Bill in a conference committee.
I used this alert from the Office of Public Witness of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.):
This week, hundreds of Presbyterians, including our leaders Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons, Moderator Neal Presa, and Executive Director Linda Valentine are taking the Food Stamp/SNAP Challenge. The Stated Clerk reflects on his trip to the grocery store in this article.
While living on a food stamp budget for just a week cannot come close to the struggles encountered by low-income families week after week and month after month, it does offer those who take the Challenge with a new perspective and greater understanding. For more resources, visit our Food Stamp Challenge page and the Presbyterian Hunger Program.
Authorization of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps) is included in the Farm Bill, on which Congress is working to negotiate a final deal right now.
Write to Congress now and urge them to produce a comprehensive, fair, and faithful Farm Bill.
Earlier in the year, serious threats were made to the funding of SNAP and on Nov. 1st, SNAP benefits were cut as a 2009 funding increase ran out. Far from there being room to cut SNAP, we are finding out this week that they are already inadequate to meet reasonable, nutritional needs. If anything, we need to invest more in Food Stamp benefits. SNAP is a designed as a counter-cyclical program that expands to meet needs when the economy is bad and people lose income and become eligible. When the jobs outlook and economy improve, it contracts as participants cycle off the program.
Members of Congress need to hear loud and wholehearted support for a program that catches people in their moments of need.
With the PC(USA)’s long-held convictions about food justice and fair food and farm policy, our interests in the Farm Bill, while very concerned with the nutrition programs, are also much broader that. In a joint statement with interfaith partners, the PC(USA) called on Congress to pass a Farm Bill that:
- Protects and strengthens programs that reduce hunger and improve nutrition in the United States.
- Promotes investments and policies that strengthen rural communities and combat rural poverty.
- Provides a fair and effective farmer safety net that allows farmers in the U.S. and around the world to earn economically sustainable livelihoods.
- Strengthens policies and programs that promote conservation and protect creation from environmental degradation.
- Protects the dignity, health, and safety, of those responsible for working the land.
- Promotes research related to alternative, clean, and renewable forms of energy that do not negatively impact food prices or the environment.
- Safeguards and improves international food aid in ways that encourage local food security and improve the nutritional quality of food aid.
In light of our experience this week with the Food Stamp / SNAP Challenge, it is essential that Members of Congress hear from Presbyterians who are concerned about hunger and food justice, at home in the U.S. and around the world.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Current Events, Food, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Five emerging random observations that need further reflection after two days:
1. I have had a number of conversation online and in person about the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge. I think that is part of the point. A big part of the point. Friends and colleagues have affirmed the challenge and raised serious questions about the challenge. We also talk about hunger and poverty and what we can do to end them. We need to have those conversations more deliberately and to act on the ideas we have.
2. My colleague J. Herbert Nelson, director of the Presbyterian Washington Office notes that:
We engage the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge as Presbyterians to claim the biblical truth that God has given us enough. Our waste and greed is the source of scarcity for many in our nation and world.
I agree with that. But I also know that I need to do a better job – when I cut my waste and my usage – of directing those resources to help others and challenge the existing system. I have work to do.
3. Over these first two days, I have found it easier to avoid overeating by focusing on the amount I have to spend and the reality of my brothers and sisters who face even greater challenges daily than I do when I focus on the number of calories I am eating. Not sure what that means but I do need to ponder how it might into future actions and self-care.
4. I sent emails to my Representative and Senators today telling them that I am on the challenge and asking what they are doing and what more they plan to do to end poverty and hunger. However they respond, I plan to ask further questions.
5. Three ideas are emerging about follow up actions. One is to decrease my use of meat and eat lighter for the sake of the planet and to share the enough that God has given. I ordered a vegetarian cookbook a few moments ago. A second is to identify an amount to spend each week and stick to that amount. The third is to become more creative in my food purchase – to use farmers’ markets and locally grown foods. Given where I am starting on that one, it won’t be hard to make progress.
What do you think? Whether you are on the challenge or not, what do you think?
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Food, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
That’s right. The menu. One menu for the seven days.
Two major factors contribute to this. First, I am not terribly creative in the kitchen. Second, it made shopping easier.
That said, here is the menu:
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
That will leave me five eggs and 9 slices of cheese to add over the week.
Water will be the beverage – beyond the V-8
This is not a balanced diet. I know that. I recognize many of the issues with it.
The amount of money to spend imposes limits, but I could also consider nutritional factors more carefully. That I do not have to do so for a week is yet another privilege.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Food, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
I recognize that the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge is an exercise. In no way does it truly mirror the experience of my sisters and brothers for whom poverty is a daily reality.
Hopefully it may make me a little more aware of that reality. It may lead to conversations about why people are poor. It may result in reflections on the folly of cutting SNAP benefits, further shredding the safety net. It may encourage advocacy to address the cuts.
But I have privileges that most people who use food stamps regularly do not have. I mentioned several of them in my first post on the Challenge. Even as I wrote those words, I knew that I would encounter other privileges during the course of this week.
I had not expected to do so by 9:10 AM on the Challenge’s first day.
I was scheduled to preach at the First Presbyterian Church of Whitestone. This involved taking the 1 Train to Penn Station and then taking the Long Island Railroad to the Murray Hill Station. Not everyone could afford to do that, I realized before the day began. That was not the privilege that surprised me.
I played around on the computer (which not everyone has) for too long and found myself running late. I quickly chose to take a cab. I could do that because I have the financial resources to do so – resources that others do not have.
That’s not really I learning. I knew that people with limited incomes face challenges that I do not. It’s a reminder of something I already know. And it’s
There will be more.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Food, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
I purchased the food for my week on the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge. I used $33.55 of a $34.40 budget.
Ten early observations:
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Food, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Looking for some ways to help the people of the Philippines affected by Typhoon Haiyan / Typhoon Yolanda? Here is what I support:
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is working with our mission partner the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) and fellow members of the ACT (Action by Churches Together) Alliance. An initial grant of $50,000 from One Great Hour of Sharing funds will help provide emergency food, water and other basic humanitarian needs to families affected by Typhoon Haiyan / Typhoon Yolanda that struck the country on November 8.
Many organizations are responding to this disaster. Most are reputable. Some are not. Some will make mistakes. A few will even take advantage of the people in the deepest need.
My giving goes through the Presbyterian Church because I have seen the work we do and we work in partnership with people on the ground, people directly affected.
If you have a place where you prefer to give, give generously. If you are looking for a place to give, I encourage you to try Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Current Events, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
I have signed up to participate in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Food Stamp Challenge.
November 17-23, 2013 the PC(USA)’s denominational leaders, Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons, the Moderator Neal Presa and Presbyterian Mission Board Executive Director Linda Valentine will engage in the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge. We invite the rest of the church to join them, either by taking the actual Challenge or by joining in solidarity through various activities, including child and adult education, outreach in communities, and prayer.
The SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge is a discipline to draw attention to the gross injustice of poverty and hunger in the U.S. and to open new opportunities for education, understanding, compassion and solidarity.
This Challenge is not only a call to hunger and poverty awareness, but also a call to action. We are called by God to be in the world and to seek to make it a better place. Changing hearts and minds are the starting point of building a movement and improving policy.
The Challenge simply means choosing for one week to live on the average amount of food stamp support in your state. This means spending only the average allowance, per person, on everything that you eat, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, seasonings and drinks.
Join us November 17-23, 2013!
I’ll try to let you know how I do.
See you along the Trail.
The World Council of Churches recently concluded their 10th Assembly. The Assembly met in Busan, Republic of Korea.
When I traveled to Korea this spring, I had the privilege to address the Busan WCC Preparatory Committee.
I did not return for the Assembly. Part of me wishes I had. A large group of Presbyterians attended, including colleagues and friends. Hearing of their experiences reminded me of my Korean connections.
In addition to the news accounts from the WCC and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), many of the participants wrote and blogged about the Assembly. Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly, wrote several reflections.
For analysis of the Assembly through the lens of gender and racial justice, check out the blog of my friend Laura Mariko Cheifetz. Here are her current postings along with some teasers.
I know, I should really appreciate everyone’s voices being shared. I should make sure that any decision-making process allows for all voices. But consensus is just as complicated a process as is Robert’s Rules/parliamentary procedure, and the process combined with limited time allowed for discussion really can quash serious disagreement and discussion (unless you’re a dude, according to this meeting).
We have theological and Biblical reasons for our long-standing ecumenical activity. Succumbing to our desire to hoard our diminishing resources and the influence of the isolationist/conservative element in the PC(USA) would be a theological statement – that we believe we do not have enough. We believe in scarcity. We believe that our own institutional preservation is of greater theological value and import than our commitment to being part of the larger Christian family.
There is a line between tokenizing and fetishizing young people’s voices, and genuinely holding up their leadership. Let’s be clear, the church is usually behind other social institutions in giving young people real responsibilities and taking them seriously.
And a highlight of my day, besides the mens’ statement, was going to the steps outside the convention center with hundreds of other participants in the pre-assembly for a group picture, with women from all over the world singing “We Shall Overcome.” This, from women who had just been discussing trafficking of women and children, and sexual violence. There is plenty of hope here. I can’t wait for tomorrow, for the beginning of the assembly.
A woman selling food by the beach gave me a look when I said I was American. I took that to mean that she didn’t quite believe me because of my looks (this is a frequent problem I have when traveling in other countries – I don’t look white, don’t have blond hair or blue eyes, and I like spicy food, so I do not seem very American to some). I said my mother’s family was Japanese, and she walked away. I know that just because my family wasn’t in Japan, and spent a few years locked up in concentration camps in the U.S. for being Japanese, does not make much of a difference to a people who were systematically terrorized by a brutal and dehumanizing regime.
Like many with privilege, I want to squeeze myself into a corner and not take up too much space out of an awareness of that privilege. Of course, as an under-40 woman of color, there is another part of me that knows disappearing is not the answer. Making myself small and withholding my contributions to the work is just another way to exercise privilege, or to allow those from my denomination and country with more personal privilege to dominate. So I will participate. In fact, I think I’ll be working my ass off, dancing between contributing the appropriate amount and making sure my contributions are not dominant over the contributions of others with less economic and social power in this religious world. At least I’m aware that I should not dominate the conversation.
Laura also posts a number of photo blogs:
If you want to learn more about the WCC General Assembly, check out Laura’s work. She says more will follow.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Antiracism, Current Events, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Along the Graybeard Trail 