Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. Catholic Church’s overseas relief and development agency, is chartered and overseen by the Catholic bishops in the U.S. to bring Christ’s love to our vulnerable brothers and sisters overseas. It offers them assistance and resources to help them raise themselves out of poverty and live with the dignity that God wills for his children.
Here in Virginia, a number of Catholics from the Arlington and Richmond dioceses have come together to support CRS in this holy work. Members of the CRS Virginia Chapter unite to urge our legislators to adopt measures that help people lift themselves out of poverty. You have an opportunity to join us in this work by urging Congress to reject harmful changes to the Farm Bill.
The Farm Bill, among other things, provides critical nutrition assistance both domestically and internationally, and is set to expire in September. Congress is considering a change that will impair seriously the bill’s ability to deliver life-sustaining food assistance to those who need it overseas.
The Food for Peace program — a key component of the current bill — delivers locally grown food and, when necessary, cash and U.S. sourced-commodities to people facing crises. It also authorizes non-emergency programs that help people improve their food security.
Congress is considering including in the bill a provision called the American Farmers Feed the World Act, H.R. 4293/S. 2862, which would deliver food in a way that would make it harder for farmers to sell their own crops, and so would harm their ability to make a living. Food for Peace, on the other hand, provides assistance based on community needs, and includes approaches that improve farmers’ access to markets and help households generate income.
In the Gospels, when faced with a hungry crowd, Jesus directed his apostles to gather what they had, as meager as it was, and feed them. That proved to be enough. In advocating for these matters facing Congress, we can join Jesus in feeding a multitude, too.
Knippler, a parishioner at St. John Neumann Church in Reston, is co-chair of the Virginia Chapter of Catholic Relief Services.
Find out more
For more info on the CRS Virginia Chapter and the Farm Bill, email Steve Knippler at [email protected].
Corpus Christi