2014 Congressional Elections Advocacy 101 - Making a Difference in Congress | Page 2

Why Advocacy?
Working to end hunger in our nation and world can seem overwhelming. After all, hunger is a massive, complex, age-old human struggle. What
can one person do?
Providing direct assistance to hungry and poor people through churches and charities is vital. It feeds many families in immediate need and
gives people hope for the future. But even if churches and charities doubled their efforts, they still would not be able to end
Advocating
hunger on their own. Our federal government must
play a role. Only government leaders can make the
with and for
hungry people is economic, social, and political decisions necessary
to attack the deep structural causes and ultimately
something each
eliminate widespread hunger and poverty. Just a
of us can do.
sentence or two written into a piece of legislation
can benefit millions of people in the United States and around the world.
As people of faith and conscience, we must remind leaders of their
responsibilities to the people they represent and offer constructive solutions. We can advocate for changes in public policy that will end hunger
and poverty at home and abroad in the decades ahead. Advocating with
and for hungry people is something each of us can do, and it doesn’t take

ADVOCACY WORKS
Kristin Ostrom had mobilized Bread for the World members and coalition
allies for years, urging their local representative to support hunger programs.
When a key vote to significantly cut SNAP (formerly food stamps) loomed
in the House of Representatives, the Lincoln, Neb., Bread leader rallied faith
leaders across the state to speak out. Her representative became one of only
15 members of his party to vote against the cuts.
Two other Bread activists, Chuck Gerhan and Thato Ramoabi, live in New
Hampshire. When they learned that their senator was an important swing
vote on extending unemployment benefits for people unable to find work,
they spoke up. They took talking points that Bread staff provided and, along
with other advocates, made a timely call to the senator’s office. She voted
in favor of Bread’s position. Later, the senator’s staff said that calls from
constituents back home changed the senator’s mind on the legislation.
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