Have Faith, End Hunger!!!!!!!!

The Micah Corps had the opportunity to work and learn at Bread for the World, an advocacy organization focused on ending hunger in the world. The interns did a variety of work, including cataloging, transcribing, and organizing material to help Bread for the World with long-standing projects. But furthermore, Micah Corps interns did research on the voting patterns of certain members of Congress, while also calling local covenant churches to discuss Bread for the World activities. The intern’s time also included discussions revolving around Bread for the World’s advocacy, including their most recent “Lobby Day” as well other work the organization is currently involved in. This topic is related to Nebraska, as almost 10.4% of Nebraska households struggle to put food on the table, while 14.3% of children in Nebraska live in families that struggle to find food. Two specific ways that ALL United Methodists can get involved is by writing our local representatives about the need to support an extension of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), as well as support the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act. The EITC helped over 112,211 Nebraska households in 2006 by providing for a certain amount of money through a tax-credit that helps impoverished families put food on the table. Nebraska has also added a state level EITC because of the success of the federal EITC. The act is extremely important as it helps working families stay afloat and stave off the difficult decisions between bills and food, especially when children are affected. Bread for the World and Micah Corps also encourages people to support the Child Tax Credit (CTC), which provides $1000 for each child under 17 on a worker’s tax return, as well as additional funding for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which helps workers file their tax returns in an effective manner. The second major piece of legislation, the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act, is essential because it provides increase funding for programs that put on school breakfast and lunch programs, preschool and other summer meal programs, which help provide the food necessary for the healthy development of children. You can help close the hunger and nutritional gap by writing members of Congress and urging them to support Child Nutrition Reauthorization. Overall, the Micah Corps worked very diligently in helping promote Bread for the World’s work, but also in learning about policy issues that affect children from Nebraska to Africa. We hope to help engage churches in a renewed conversation about how we all can get involved in the fight to end hunger!