A group of people, led by former U.S. representative and ambassador Tony Hall, are participating in a "hunger fast" to advocate for the nation's hungry and the federal programs that help them:
Ambassador Hall is fasting... in response to the proposed cuts to vital anti-hunger and anti-poverty programs: "We do need to cut the deficit and need to get our fiscal house in order. But not on the backs of the poor and hungry. They didn't get us into the current mess, and hurting them is not the way out of it."
Well said.
Others who are fasting include: Ritu Sharma, president of Women Thrive Worldwide; Reverend David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World; Jim Wallis, President and CEO of Sojourners; Ruth W. Messinger, president of American Jewish World Service; Pierre Ferrari, CEO of Heifer International; and prominent New York Times food Journalist and author Mark Bittman. Of that group, Bittman is the one I respect the most (mainly because I know him and I know he's for real). He wrote up a column called Why We're Fasting.
A group I am a member of, the Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) has also signed onto this effort. They say:
The Community Food Security Coalition endorses this effort to draw attention to the impact of proposed federal budget cuts on low-income people. Slashing the social safety net in these fragile economic times would increase hunger and hardship, and cutting off investments in community-based solutions could derail the recovery and inhibit the development of self-reliant, sustainable communities and economies. |
