Yesterday, members of the Farm Bill Working Group of Ohio went on a mission in downtown Columbus to deliver a faith-based sign-on letter to the offices of Senators Sherrod Brown and George Voinovich.

As seen in the pictures, our team includes: Jerry Freewalt (Columbus Catholic Diocese), Mark Diemer (Grace of God Lutheran Church), Gini Lohmann Bauman (Sojourners), Larry Hollar (Bread for the World). Being the group photographer that day, I was included in spirit.

The sign-on letter included faith leaders from Central and Southern Ohio representing over 2,000 congregations and over 650,000 people of faith.

There are two purposes for this sign-on letter:

1. To show the Ohio senators that the faith community cares about these issues; and
2. To urge the Senate to push for a better and stronger Farm Bill that helps farmers domestically while keeping in mind farmers globally.

Beth Thames, the Deputy State Director for Senator Brown, and Lynn Stevens, the Community Relations Coordinator for Senator Voinovich, gladly accepted the letters and took the time to hear our concerns. Our mission is over but the mission for the Senate is just beginning. Hopefully we will have some good news this Fall.

-Katie Andrews, ONE Regional Organizer