BREAD FOR THE WORLD:
OFFERING OF LETTERS
JUSTICE, PEACE, AND INTEGRITY OF CREATION (JPIC)
March 29-30, 2025
After All Masses, Church Gathering Space
Information Forthcoming
2024 BREAD FOR THE WORLD:
OFFERING OF LETTERS
ANOTHER PARISH RECORD!
Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) and Bread for the World’s Durham team would like to thank all our parishioners who made this year’s “Offering of Letters” to Congress to reauthorize the Farm Bill a success! For the second year in a row, our “JPIC Bread for the World: Offering of Letters” campaign has broken a parish record! After our masses over the weekend, we collected the highest number of handwritten letters in our parish's history, with over 366 handwritten letters, far surpassing last year's record! This is in addition to all the letters our parishioners submitted online or mailed personally.
We appreciate you taking the time to put your faith into action! It is not too late for you to help end food insecurity and hunger in the U.S. and save the lives of millions abroad by sending a letter to Congress in support of the Farm Bill by mailing a letter on your own or online through the link provided below.
The Bread for the World Durham team also wants to thank Father Manuel, Ken Chiha, Isabel Kovaliki, and Katushka Olave for their support. We look forward to doing it again next year.
I have asked our JPIC Bread for the World team to keep our parishioners updated on the status of the Farm Bill as we continue to advocate for healthy, equitable, and sustainable food systems.
We appreciate you taking the time to put your faith into action! It is not too late for you to help end food insecurity and hunger in the U.S. and save the lives of millions abroad by sending a letter to Congress in support of the Farm Bill by mailing a letter on your own or online through the link provided below.
The Bread for the World Durham team also wants to thank Father Manuel, Ken Chiha, Isabel Kovaliki, and Katushka Olave for their support. We look forward to doing it again next year.
I have asked our JPIC Bread for the World team to keep our parishioners updated on the status of the Farm Bill as we continue to advocate for healthy, equitable, and sustainable food systems.
2024 BREAD FOR THE WORLD:
OFFERING OF LETTERS SLIDESHOW
2024 BREAD FOR THE WORLD:
OFFERING OF LETTERS
JUSTICE, PEACE, AND INTEGRITY OF CREATION (JPIC)
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Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) once again is proud to support the annual "Bread for the World: Offering of Letters" to our Congressional representatives in the gathering space after all masses the weekend of March 02-03. Since last year's 2023 Farm Bill was not passed because Congress never agreed on a fully funded budget, we will continue our efforts for its approval.
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The Farm Bill deals with much more than just farming. The Farm Bill is one of the nation's oldest, ever-evolving, and most important pieces of national food system legislation. It is also the single largest piece of legislation that addresses hunger in our country. It determines policy and funding levels for agriculture and food assistance programs through the Department of Agriculture. The Farm Bill covers jobs/workers’ rights, nutrition, research, infrastructure, conservation, and innovation to create a food system that is equitable and sustainable focusing on the needs of those who are poor as well as the needs of our Common Home. It is a bedrock policy for US and global food security, our farmers’ and ranchers’ well-being and relationship with the environment and markets, and nutrition assistance. It is updated every five years, but if the latest version does not pass Congress it will default to the 1949 version, which is outdated and would threaten the sustainability of our food security system.
The impact of the farm bill is significant. It not only affects the agriculture and food sectors - but it can also play a huge role in ending food insecurity and hunger in the U.S. and save the lives of millions abroad. Among the measures that should be included are strengthening nutrition security in domestic and international food aid programs, increasing food systems sustainability, and creating a more equitable Supplemental Nutrition Assistance SNAP (aka Food Stamps) program. SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program. It provides benefits for low-paid working families, low-income older adults (60 years and older), and people with disabilities living on fixed incomes, among others. In 2022, almost 1.6 million people in North Carolina received SNAP benefits. These benefits helped the 18% of children in North Carolina who live below the poverty line and face hunger issues. In Durham County alone, this means about 15,000 children in our community were aided by SNAP benefits in 2022.
Please join your fellow Immaculate Conception parishioners at our “Bread for the World: Offering of Letters” and tell your senators and representatives to support the reauthorization of the farm bill in order to build healthy, equitable, and sustainable food systems.
The impact of the farm bill is significant. It not only affects the agriculture and food sectors - but it can also play a huge role in ending food insecurity and hunger in the U.S. and save the lives of millions abroad. Among the measures that should be included are strengthening nutrition security in domestic and international food aid programs, increasing food systems sustainability, and creating a more equitable Supplemental Nutrition Assistance SNAP (aka Food Stamps) program. SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program. It provides benefits for low-paid working families, low-income older adults (60 years and older), and people with disabilities living on fixed incomes, among others. In 2022, almost 1.6 million people in North Carolina received SNAP benefits. These benefits helped the 18% of children in North Carolina who live below the poverty line and face hunger issues. In Durham County alone, this means about 15,000 children in our community were aided by SNAP benefits in 2022.
Please join your fellow Immaculate Conception parishioners at our “Bread for the World: Offering of Letters” and tell your senators and representatives to support the reauthorization of the farm bill in order to build healthy, equitable, and sustainable food systems.
Included below you can find information on Immaculate Conception's Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) "Bread for the World: Offering of Letters" and resources to help you write and submit your letter. If you have any questions, please contact:
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JPIC BREAD FOR THE WORLD: OFFERING OF LETTERS PARISHIONER TEAM LEADER
Mike Eberst |
DIRECTOR OF JUSTICE, PEACE, AND INTEGRITY OF CREATION (JPIC)
Ken Chiha |
WRITING YOUR LETTER!
In addition to writing your letter in the gathering space after all masses the weekend of March 02-03, you also can mail a letter on your own or online through the link provided below. A listing of our Senators and our local Representative, some "quick tips for an effective letter," and a "sample letter" are also listed in the following sections.
NC CONGRESS MEMBERS
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Senator Ted Budd
B85 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 |
Senator Thom Tillis
113 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 |
Rep. Valerie P. Foushee
1716 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC, 20515-3304 |
QUICK TIPS FOR AN EFFECTIVE LETTER
Ask for a specific action, using your own words or this sentence:
Give reasons for your request and make it personal.
Write your name and address at the end of your letter and/or on the envelope, so your members of Congress know you are one of their constituents.
- I urge you to support a farm bill that builds healthy, equitable, and sustainable food systems.
Give reasons for your request and make it personal.
- Share a personal reason or story that motivated you to write.
- Show own organization’s commitment: “My church is helping by (example) but I also urge you to protect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from cuts.”
Write your name and address at the end of your letter and/or on the envelope, so your members of Congress know you are one of their constituents.
- Immaculate Conception's letters will be delivered together by our Bread for the World JPIC parishioner leaders. Interested parishioners can contact our Bread for the World team about scheduling a meeting at our representatives' offices (or online) with a delegation from our parish.
- Please do not mail letters to Bread for the World. If you are mailing your letter, put each letter in a separate envelope and address it. To send a personalized email, go to bread.org/farmbill.
https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm
OFFERING OF LETTERS
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OFRENDA DE CARTA[Fecha]
Cámara de Representantes de los Estados Unidos Washington, DC 20515 Senado de los Estados Unidos Washington, DC 20510 Estimado Senador, / Estimado Representante, La Ley Agrícola es la legislación del sistema alimentario nacional más importante de nuestra nación. Es fundamental para poner un alto al hambre en el país y en el mundo. De hecho, la ley agrícola afecta a todos y cada uno de nosotros. Mientras el Congreso trabaja para renovar nuestros programas alimentarios y agrícolas a través de la Ley Agrícola, lo insto apoyar una legislación que construya sistemas alimentarios saludables, equitativos y sostenibles. Específicamente, le pido:
Como persona de fe, me siento movido en ayudar y abogar por las personas que sufren hambre y pobreza, sin tener en cuenta dónde vivan. Es por eso que le insto apoyar a una ley agrícola que construya sistemas alimentarios saludables, equitativos y sostenibles. Atentamente [Su nombre] [Su dirección] [Su correo electrónico] |
RESOURCES AND INFORMATION
FARM BILL INFOGRAPHIC
NC HUNGER AND POVERTY FACT SHEET
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GLOBAL FOOD ASSISTANCE FACT SHEET
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EQUITY
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SUSTAINABILITY
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NUTRITION
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2023 EATER’S GUIDE TO THE FARM BILL
© All rights reserved.
If you have questions regarding our various JPIC ministries, please contact me directly.
Kennith M. Chiha, Director of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC)
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church - 901-A West Chapel Hill Street, Durham, NC 27701
(919) 682-3449 Ext. 293 - [email protected]
If you have questions regarding our various JPIC ministries, please contact me directly.
Kennith M. Chiha, Director of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC)
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church - 901-A West Chapel Hill Street, Durham, NC 27701
(919) 682-3449 Ext. 293 - [email protected]