Every five years Congress passes a huge Farm Bill (likely over one trillion dollars this time) that has huge impacts on all aspects of creation (land, water, forests, air) and human communities here and throughout the world – those who produce the food and all of us who are fed by their efforts. The bill especially impacts low-wealth people who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits funded through this bill.
We hope you will engage in helping to shape this legislation to be creation friendly and just.
We ask you to take two actions immediately:
First, use this link from Faith in Place (the Illinois affiliate of Interfaith Power & Light) to urge your Senators and Representatives to include strong climate measures and other key reforms in the bill that protect creation and enhance justice for all who provide our food. Iowa Interfaith Power and Light shared a phone script to use with your Representatives, which can be found here.
Second, use this link from The UMC Board of Church & Society to insist that your Senators and Representatives protect SNAP from threatened cuts that would create more hunger in this country, especially for children.
We ask you also to learn more about the Farm Bill:
As you have time, here are resources to educate yourself more thoroughly about the Farm Bill and the reasons why it is so important:
- A recording of a Farm Bill Webinar offered in September by the UMCJM Advocacy Working Group that features advocates, a farmer, and a member of Congress.
- A letter to chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees calling for a creation-enhancing and justice-oriented Farm Bill that was recently signed by 127 Faith groups (including the UMC Board of Church & Society) along with a news release describing its purpose.
Thank you for taking action and learning more about this very important bill where issues of creation care and justice intersect.
—The Advocacy Working Group of the UMCJM