About Bread for the World 40th Anniversary Commemorative Book | Page 12

money because they supported our main premise—that by
changing policies, programs,
and conditions that allow hunger and poverty to persist, we
can provide help and opportunity far beyond the communities
in which we live.

Crista Friedli

But Bread needed to find a
way to organize these members
and prepare them to reach out
to their members of Congress.
Bread’s grassroots network was
Bread Hunger Justice Leader Krystyna Soljan meets with Rep. Donborn with the launch of Project
ald Payne (D-N.J.) during Bread’s Lobby Day in 2010. Year after year
500—an effort to recruit and
during its history, in-person visits with members of Congress as well
as other communications have been at the core of Bread’s mission.
train 500 advocates. Many of
those early advocates, like Pat
Ayres and Eleanor Crook, remain active supporters today. And this network, which has
grown exponentially since then, remains the true hands and heart of the organization.
Bread launched its first large-scale Offering of Letters in 1975—on the right to food.
Despite having fewer than 10,000 members at the time, Bread was able to generate more
than 100,000 letters to Congress on this issue because our active membership invited their
fellow church members to participate. The landmark Right to Food Resolution, passed
overwhelmingly by Congress, states: “…the United States reaffirms the right of every perso