Oppose cuts to Food for Peace
April 17, 2024
Background: In a world where 783 million people are chronically hungry, the Food for Peace program—part of the U.S. Farm Bill—provides lifesaving aid during emergencies and helps communities build resilience against food shortages. A new bill, that some members of Congress are hoping to add to the Farm Bill, would significantly undermine Food for Peace.
The American Farmers Feed the World Act (H.R. 4293/S. 2862) would impose severe restrictions on Food for Peace, slashing funds for treating severely malnourished children with ready-to-use therapeutic foods and eliminating development activities that address the root causes of hunger and malnutrition. The bill would remove the mandate of Food for Peace to build resilience against hunger and would critically lower the program’s ability to deliver emergency food aid.
Faith reflection: “But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith.” (James 2:18). We are admonished to do good because such works reflect our faith. As Christians, we are to do all we can to assist those who lack food and to help communities thrive and flourish.
Action: Oppose the American Farmers Feed the World Act (H.R. 4293/S. 2863)
Photo above: Jacqueline Kafuti, who holds bunches of cassava leaves, is cheered on by a group of people who have been displaced from their home communities and are resettling in Kanzombi, a section of Kikwit, Kwilu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kafuti is a member of a CEFMC (Community of Mennonite Brethren Churches of Congo in Kikwit) committee that is helping people to resettle in the region. MCC photo/Frederick Yocum
