A Place at the Table

Americans are told we can't afford to make school meals nutritious or expand the nutrition safety net enough so that everyone can eat. We're told that charities need to fill the gap. Millions of ordinary Americans are being encouraged to donate cans of food and volunteer their time at food pantries, believing that these efforts will make a significant difference, but a food bank employee quietly confided to us that canned food drives and employee-volunteer days were more valuable for public relations than ending hunger.
Charity is important, but it's not solving the underlying problem. In fact, it could be making it worse by allowing us to avoid asking the really hard question: Why, in a nation that has the means to feed everyone well and plentifully, are 49 million people not getting enough to eat?

Bread for the World's 2013 Offering of Letters will focus on public policy issues that keep many people in poverty in spite of our nation's incredible wealth.

Also see schedule and speakers pages for more details about the breakout sessions, and look for workshop updates from time to time.

1. Overview of Hunger Report 2013 and the Millennium Development Goals ­- CANCELLED 2. At God's Table: Food Justice for a Healthy World - report from Ecumenical Advocacy Days ­- Bob Walden • What are the major obstacles to ending hunger in the U.S. and world-wide? • What does it take to overcome those obstacles? Hint: Oxfam International reports that the world's top 100 billionaires added $240 billion to their wealth in 2012 ­- enough to end world poverty four times over!

3. Advocacy in an Era of Complex Congressional Process ­- Larry Hollar
How does the legislative process work today? [Hint: Gone are the old days of getting a bill introduced, considered by committees, floor votes, conference committee, final vote and presidential signature.]

4. Dealing with "Push-Back" and Negative View of Government ­- CANCELLED
Conversation about the troublesome questions people expect to get about advocacy, the Offering of Letters campaign, federal food programs and foreign aid, or whatever.

5. U.S. and Pennsylvania Public Policy: 2013-14 Budget Issues ­- Janet Ney
Budget decisions in Washington and Harrisburg shape society's response to pressing issues such as hunger and poverty. This workshop will look at the effects of sequestration and the pending Farm Bill renewal and examine the governor's proposed budget for Pennsylvania.

6. "A Place at the Table" - documentary discussion ­- Aaron Wilcoxson
Watch the documentary film "A Place at the Table" at First Presbyterian Church, Allentown, on Friday, April 19 at 7:00 pm, or Friday, April 26 at 7:00 pm, in Fellowship Hall, or read the book. Then come for discussion at this session on April 27 at 11:00 AM.
(The documentary will be shown twice:   April 19 and April 26, but not on April 27.)

7. "How-To" workshop: Public Policy Advocacy 101 ­- Jessica Dreistadt
  • Offering of Letters
  • Working with Media
  • Letter-Writing Basics ...

8. Youth Workshop ­- Jessica Dreistadt