Happy August, friends! It comes in like the heat of summer and leaves (usually) with the calming, nice temperatures of fall. Let’s enjoy these beautiful days while we can!
This month, I wanted to raise more awareness to both a local and national problem. I recently read a letter from Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest, PA which services the following counties: Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Jefferson, McKean, Venango, and Warren. They are rightly raising the alarm on a dire problem facing our communities.
One specific area they speak about is the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA) which as of June 30th of this year was discontinued by the federal government. This program bought fresh, healthy produce from farmers in the regions served and provided it to those experiencing food insecurity. This program accounted for 17% of the total budget for Second Harvest and represented 1.5 million meals to those in need. As of right now, that program receives 0 funds. That means farmers are not having their produce purchased and local food pantries are getting access to less, if any, fresh foods.
This has all occurred while Second Harvest has seen a 43% increase in individuals needing assistance and a 40% increase in the number of families requesting assistance.
Along with the above listed cuts, The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) has also been cut. This means that senior citizens in need cannot receive the USDA’s Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP).
These are tremendous problems for our communities. These are tremendous problems for our neighbors. These should be huge moral problems for we followers of Jesus Christ.
When those in need have need, we should step up to feed them. Jesus fed the 5,000 and the 4,000 not because they were worth it or because they were worthy. He fed them because they were there and they were hungry. It’s hard to proclaim a Gospel of hope in God when God’s people are turning a blind eye to injustice and solvable suffering.
St. Mother Teresa once said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” We cannot solve the hunger problems of this world all on our own. We need to bind ourselves to Christ and His Body in this world. The church, when it focuses its love and the power of the Spirit, can do amazing things. While it may not solve the entire problem and we’re going to need assistance from others, just remember how much suffering will be alleviated in the process.
We have lots of opportunities to do our little bit of good to help alleviate this suffering as best we can. We have the West Millcreek Food Pantry “Fill That Cart” every Sunday. Please, please, please consider picking up a few extra items to put them in the cart. We have the CROP Hunger Walk coming up this September. This 50th Anniversary walk’s goal is to raise $100,000 to help eradicate hunger. Please, start getting your plans together now and strategize for how you can ask neighbors, friends, strangers…anyone…for assistance. 25% of every dollar raised at our CROP walk is guaranteed to remain right here in Erie County. Under a new federal law, it’s tax deductible to give cash to charity without having to itemize ($1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for couples filling jointly). While a personal benefit shouldn’t be our motivation, it is there to help encourage others to give generously.
It should break our hearts to watch others suffer. The violent growl of empty bellies should drive us to respond and attempt to fill those stomachs. Feeding those who are hungry is a moral issue. This has nothing to do with politics, partisanship, or anything like that. Instead, when people are hungry, we feed them. It’s just that simple.
When Luke speaks of the great banquet of the lamb in the renewed world, we don’t hear about a litmus test for admission other than people being hungry. In the parables that speak about this reality, again, Jesus never gives some sort of criteria for admission other than there’s lots of food and there’s people who want and need to eat it.
I pray that with these cuts Christ’s people will step up to fill the breach and do our little bit of good where we are to feed the hungry and make God’s kingdom more present and active in this world.