On Monday, one of ONE’s partners – Bread for the World – released their annual Hunger Report. The report, entitled Hunger 2009: Global Development: Charting a New Course, focuses on how particular changes and investment in approaches to development can combat the global hunger crisis.

In addition to the global financial crisis, the world is in the midst of a food and a fuel crisis. In less than two years, the number of people who are hungry globally has increased by 75 million, and 100 million people are at risk of being pushed into poverty. Paying more for food – especially for poor families who already spend half or more of their income on food – means shifting to fewer, less nutritious meals per day, and reducing expenditures on other necessities like education and health care.

As the Hunger Report explains, there are several causes for the increase in food prices including an increased demand from people who have moved out of poverty, drought in major grain-producing regions like Australia, fuel price hikes, and years of poor policy choices by the developed world – like subsidies and tariffs – that have ravaged agricultural sectors in the developing world.

The Hunger Report proposes two primary solutions for ensuring long-term global food security. The first is to invest in agriculture in the developing world. Historically, the U.S. and other Official Development Assistance (ODA) providers have addressed hunger by investing in food aid. While in certain emergent situations food aid is vital, the long cycle of hunger and poverty that has left millions vulnerable to the smallest increase in food costs can only be addressed by developing local agricultural sectors.

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On Saturday, October 11, ONE and Bread for the World co-sponsored a “Hunger Banquet” at Media City Church in Burbank, CA. Participants drew pieces of paper indicating their symbolic income level for the event – and then were given their meals accordingly. The 60% who drew slips of paper with “low-income” written on them received rice, the 30% who pulled “middle-income” received rice and beans, and the remaining few- 10%- who pulled “high-income” straws received lasagna, salad, bread and dessert.

During the meal, one member of our high-income group showed his compassion my handing out bread from his table to some of the people in the low-income group while claiming he was “Robin Hood”. I couldn’t help thinking that I wish it were just that simple. David Gist from Bread For the World gave an awesome speech about his personal experiences and encouraged us all to commit to making a difference.

Congressman Adam Schiff closed out the Banquet by speaking about his work on issues of poverty and preventable disease. During the Q&A portion, Congressman Schiff was asked if America was doing a sufficient job in fighting extreme poverty to which he responded “no, in fact we are falling far short… especially in terms of universal education.” He also confirmed the importance of contacting our leaders on issues that we care about. One of the most interesting things he pointed out about letter writing was that while the form letters that we all add our signatures to are great, personal letters and face to face meetings seem to make more of an impact. I was really impressed with Congressman Schiff’s knowledge and dedication to eradicating global poverty.

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On Wednesday, at the height of the Republican National Convention, I joined former USAID Administrator Brian Atwood and former Chairman of the House State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee Jim Kolbe on the Kojo Nnamdi radio show to discuss “Global Poverty and the Next President.”

The conversation focused on the role of grassroots organizations like ONE and Bread for the World in promoting a bold agenda for development, as well as the possibility of totally restructuring the systems that the U.S. government uses to implement and administer development assistance overseas.

You can listen to the 30-minute segment on WAMU’s website here.

-Sam Worthington, President & CEO, InterAction

The top seven reasons to come to Bread for the World’s Lobby Day on June 17:

1. There’s nothing like sweating in your Sunday best in DC’s summer heat as you traipse about Capitol Hill.

2. It’s fun to hear your senator or representative ask, “The Global Poverty what?”

3. Uplifting worship service, preceded by free wine at the reception!

4. Boxed lunches: Mmmm, delicious….

5. And if it rains, you may be able to don a trash bag as a poncho.

6. Talk in ordinary English while sounding wonky (the language of Capitol Hill.)

7. How else can you make a difference in million of lives in one day?

Register here to join us and we guarantee you the ultimate Washington experience.

-Kimberly Burge, Bread for the World

Today, the House of Representatives voted 318-106 to pass a $300 billion, 5 year Farm Bill. While the bill funds some domestic conservation and nutrition programs and food aid, it also includes agricultural subsidies that have a tangible impact on global poverty. Agricultural subsidies, which Japan and other rich countries in Europe use as well, have historically been used to help farmers earn a living when world prices for commodity crops such as wheat, corn, and rice are low and farmers lose revenue. However, these payments can also cause subsidized crops to flood overseas global markets, making it difficult for farmers in poor countries to sell agricultural products in their own markets.

Farm incomes are higher than ever, the US Department of Agriculture reports that net farm income will top $92 billion in 2008, far exceeding the 10-year average of $61 billion. These agricultural subsidies often go to the wealthiest farmers in the country. Even under the new legislation only individual farmers who make $750,000 or more in farm income would be ineligible for direct subsidy payments. The legislation that the House approved today essentially continues subsidy programs that disadvantage the poor. During this time of high food prices, when U.S. farmers are earning at record levels and poor people in developing countries are struggling to feed their families, it makes little sense for the US Congress to pass a program that can have such a damaging impact on farmers in poor countries.

Next the legislation moves to the Senate, where it is likely to pass easily as well. The White House has threatened to veto the legislation when it comes to the President, but House and Senate leaders are saying that they will vote to override a veto, which requires a 2/3 vote in both houses.

To read more on the Farm Bill see the articles below

AP article

WSJ article

Links to some of our partners’ work on the Farm Bill

Oxfam America

Bread for the World

-Sara Rogge, Senior Trade Policy Advisor

It’s gearing up to be an exciting summer for poverty-fighting activists here in the nation’s capital! ONE works closely with several organizations that are hosting national conferences, trainings and advocacy workshops in Washington, DC in May, June and July. Please check them out and spread the word!

May 27-31: Global Health Council: 35th Annual International Conference: “Community Health: Delivering, Serving, Engaging, Leading”

June 11-12: Save the Children: Advocacy Day 2008

June 13-15: Sojourners: Pentecost 2008: “Training for Change”

June 17: Bread for the World: Lobby Day 2008

June 18-19: CARE: 2008 National Conference

July 12-16: RESULTS Educational Fund: International Conference to End Poverty

July 15-16: U.S. Global Leadership Campaign and Center for U.S. Global Engagement: Washington Conference

-Margaret McDonnell, US NGO Partnerships and Faith Relations Team, ONE

You signed ONE’s petition to President Bush about the global hunger crisis—137,000 of you did, in fact. Our nation’s leaders are hearing our voices. But this crisis is still in the news. People are still going hungry.

You can keep the pressure on by taking another next step.

Join ONE partner Bread for the World’s emergency online campaign, Recipe for Hope. For six weeks, from Mother’s Day through Father’s Day, you’ll receive an email with an Ingredient for Despair—more information on the causes of this crisis—and an Ingredient for Hope—specific actions you can take to help end it. Bread will tell you something you can do and something you can say to our nation’s leaders. Then we’re all doing our part to help hungry people around the world at this perilous time.

Go to www.bread.org/recipeforhope to sign up.

One step leads to another, then leads to another. It’s the only way we keep moving forward.

-Kimberly Burge, Bread for the World

Sorry Jim Lehrer, Bill Moyers has you beat this week. Moyers has produced two great shows on hunger and poverty recently. Both feature ONE partner Bread for the World’s president, Rev. David Beckmann.

The April 4 edition of Bill Moyers Journal highlighted the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the problem of global hunger. And this Friday, April 11, Moyers will spend time looking at the farm bill and the effect U.S. commodity payments have on farmers, women, and children. The current farm bill extension is set to expire on April 18, so the show couldn’t be more timely.

Check your local listings for airdate and times.

Thanks again,

-Jennifer Coulter Stapleton, Bread for the World

I’ve been watching the news coverage of President Bush’s trip to Africa with some interest, as I hope many others have too. A presidential trip always garners much press coverage but this time it has been slightly different and for good reason. There is a lot of good news to report from the countries that the president has visited!

Some of it reflects the progress made partly because of things the president has done during his two terms. President Bush focused more attention on Africa than most expected when he took office and more than any other president in recent memory. His initiatives on HIV/AIDS, malaria and the creation of the Millennium Challenge Account will have a lasting impact on the continent, on the lives of individual Africans. One particular story focused on the progress made against malaria and what an amazing difference bed nets were making in reducing the incidence of the debilitating and sometimes deadly disease. Essentially the story showed that additional resources, targeted properly can transform lives.

The president’s trip has, in my mind, served at least two purposes – it has refocused the country’s attention on these important issues and it has demonstrated that with effort, determination and a relatively small amount of money (the total budget for poverty-focused development assistance in 2008 is $15.4 billion—which is less than one half of one percent of the federal budget, of this just over $4 billion goes to Africa), the lives and futures of millions of poor people can be dramatically improved.

There is still so much to be done to reduce hunger, poverty and disease in Africa and around the world. Nearly a billion people around the world live on less than $1 a day and 854 million are hungry. I hope that the stories coming out of Africa in the last few days help motivate us all and provide the presidential candidates with a sense of what is possible. We can meet the Millennium Development Goals. Leadership matters.

-Asma Lateef

(Asma Lateef is the director of the Bread for the World Institute. She blogs regularly at Bread for the World Institute Notes.)

Are you interested in honing your skills to become a better organizer? Want the opportunity to interact with other like-minded folks from across the country? ONE partner Bread for the World is looking for the best and brightest 18-35 year old advocates to become our “Hunger Justice Leaders.” If this sounds like you, apply today here.

This summer (June 14-17), we’ll kick the program off with a four-day interactive training in Washington, DC. We’ll pay for the trip and the training for those chosen. Bread for the World’s Hunger Justice Leaders will then commit to leading advocacy efforts to overcome hunger and poverty on their own campuses and in their communities.

Watch the promo video here, and then please forward it on to other people you know who might be interested.

We hope to see you in June!

-Jennifer Coulter Stapleton, Bread for the World