Thursday, October 27, 2011

Rev David Beckmann on Hunger and Poverty and Our Government Budgets

David Beckmann of Bread for the World, a national, religious advocacy organization for the poor, talks about reducing hunger and poverty in the world and in this country. He provides some examples of hope and improvement in places like Bangla Desh.

He talks about how in the United States we have made progress when we tried to do so. "But we haven't made the sustained progress against poverty that other countries have made. Because we haven't made the sustained effort."

"All the food that people in need get from all of the food charities across the country amounts to 6% of the amount of food they receive from federal food programs. "

So, basically all of the churches, food pantries, and soup kitchens in the country would have to increase their giving by more than 15 times to make up for the loss if all federal aid in programs like SNAP were eliminated.

In the middle/latter part of the interview is a plug for donations to the organization Bread for the World. However, I do not feel it diminishes from the overall message of the video which discusses from a religious perspective the need for governmental aid for the poor.