Fighting Hunger at NJLC
By Kris Bartanen, Social Ministry
Thinking ahead about hunger as a social ministry priority: What are root causes affecting hunger in Maricopa County and Arizona more broadly? What are Lutherans doing to address hunger? How can our faith-in-action help?
A few facts:
Currently, nearly 1 in 3 children, 1 in 5 Arizonans, and 1 in 7 seniors in Arizona live in poverty.
Arizona is the third highest producer of fruit and vegetables in the country – producing 12% of the nation’s fruits and vegetables, yet Arizona’s hunger rates are higher than national averages: 17.8% of Arizonans are food insecure, compared to 15.9% nationally, and 28.2% of Arizonan children face hunger, compared to 21.6% nationally.
Arizona ranks third in the country for high child food insecurity rates, behind only New Mexico and Mississippi, with 456,760 children facing hunger on a daily basis.
More than 40% of the households receiving emergency food assistance have at least one person who is working.
Things that help: Child nutrition programs; tax policies to encourage food and fund donations; and anti-hunger, nutrition, and health programs help to ease the hunger problem for our neighbors:
Child Nutrition Programs: With reauthorization, Congress has an opportunity to improve access to quality, nutritious meals for millions of low-income children in child care, school, out-of-school time, on weekends, during summer, and at home.
Tax Policies: Food banks rely on support from a variety of sources, including giving, government commodities, and donations for all segments of the food industry. Tax policy plays a key role in the fight against hunger and helps reduce food waste.
Anti-hunger and Health Programs: Long-standing bipartisan commitment to protect anti-hunger programs from budget cuts and harmful policy changes must be maintained. Efforts that ensure healthy food access should be preserved and promoted.
What are Lutherans doing?
Lutherans joined robustly in the September 28, 2022 White House Conference on Hunger. Aimed toward the goal of making ending hunger – experienced by some 38 million Americans – a national priority, the conference was only the second ever held by the White House – the first having been more than 50 years go. Check your source of national news from September 28 or 29 to learn more.
Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMAz.org) joined with its Arizona Hunger Policy Workgroup partners to establish a new Arizona Anti-Hunger Alliance (AzAHA). The alliance will provide combined messaging, 2023 policy proposals, education, and training to address hunger. We all can encourage national, state, and local legislators to support programs and policies that address immediate and root causes of food insecurity, poverty, and health needs.
What can we do?
Join a “Lunch and Listen” on Friday, October 7, 12-1 pm via Zoom, for legislative updates on hunger and food-related issues in Arizona. [https://zoom.us/j/185151028 – meeting ID is 185 151 028]. For more information, contact Solveig Muus at director@lamaz.org.
Join ELCA World Hunger for a celebration of World Food Day: “Leave NO ONE Behind” on Sunday, October 16, 2-3 pm, hosted by Rick Steves and Blue Diamond Almonds CEO Mark Jansen. Link via the ELCA Facebook page or ELCA YouTube channel. RSVP is not required, nor are Facebook or YouTube accounts. A recording will be available on both sites, in case you miss the event live stream. More information is available at lamaz.org or you can email hunger@elca.org.
Join the Grand Canyon Synod Hunger Leaders Network, which gathers by Zoom once a month to learn about national and local food insecurity efforts and initiatives, as well as share about hunger-related topics in our congregations. For more information, contact Solveig Muus at director@lamaz.org.
Join an ELCA webinar “Hunger at the Crossroads: Conflict and Hunger” on November 3, 11 am-12 pm.
Attend the LAMA Summit, Saturday, November 5, 9 am-noon, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chandler. The Keynote speaker is Rev. Eugene Cho, president/CEO of Bread for the World. If you would like to carpool, let Kris Bartanen know of your interest.
Listen to this radio broadcast about Fountain Hills’ St. Vincent de Paul Conference at Church of the Ascension mission to feed, clothe, house and heal those in need here.
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