hunger

On Sunday, March 2, 2025, Paul Manganiello spoke during worship and invited participation in this year’s Bread for the World Offering of Letters. It’s easy – click here to participate!

Our annual Bread for the World’s Offering (BFW) of Letters, is entitled “Nourish our Future.”

This is BFW’s 50^th Anniversary; it was founded by a Lutheran Pastor in NYC in 1974. It so happens, that it is also the 50^th Anniversary of the Federal anti-hunger program, the Supplemental Nutritional Program for Women, Infants and Children, better known as WIC. 

I was very disturbed by a recent post made by Vice President JD Vance. Vance who converted to Catholicism in 2019, legitimized the current Trump Executive Orders pertaining to migrants, and attacking the federal agency of USAID, through invoking the medieval Catholic concept of “Ordo Amoris,” or “order of love.” He suggested that Catholics must give priority to non-immigrants, “you love your family; and then you love your neighbor; and then you love your community; and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country,” Vance, then went on to say… “And then, after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world.”

Pope Francis firmly rejected Vance’s interpretation of “Ordo Amoris,” and suggested that true interpretation can be found in the story of the Good Samaritan, saying that “Ordo Amoris must be promoted, by meditating constantly on the parable of the Good Samaritan, that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.” This morning’s Offering of Letters will focus on showing our concern for the welfare of all of God’s creation.

We need to constantly check our moral compass…Jesus. Jesus fortunately freed us from the Jewish law and “simplified” how we are to act. When asked, which commandment was the greatest. He responded, “Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.” There was no hierarchy presented.

This year’s Offering of Letters, we will be advocating nationally for the WIC program; and internationally, the global nutrition programs.

I promise, these are the only statistics I will cite. Unfortunately, 1/5 American’s children are at risk for food insecurity. Most WIC recipients live in poverty; as an example, a family of three, in 2024, would earn an annual income of $25,820. Can you imagine trying to make do on $26,000/year?

We know a lot of what WIC has accomplished. WIC provides participating pregnant women prenatal health care; improving the dietary intake of pregnant and postpartum women. WIC has been shown to improve breastfeeding rates; reduce the rates of low birthweight infants, premature births, as well as stillbirths and infant mortality. WIC improves the growth of nutritionally at-risk infants and children; boosts children’s intellectual development and helps them get ready to start school. WIC’s nutrition education has been shown to increase the consumption of healthy foods. These measures are truly Pro-Life.

In 2022, Congress passed the Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act (GMPTA) with strong bipartisan support. This act makes existing U.S. global nutrition programs more effective and supports countries in their efforts to prevent and treat child and maternal malnutrition. BFW and its members were instrumental in both the development and passage of this legislation.

In 2023, USAID’s nutrition programs reached nearly 40 million women and children globally providing critical nutrition interventions. By robustly funding these global nutrition programs, we can reach more women and children with evidence-based, highly effective treatment that saves lives and provides a brighter future for children and their families. For every $1 invested in nutrition, it results in up to $35 in economic returns. Better nutrition for children and women will enable countries to improve the health of their populations, send more children to school, and strengthen their economies.

There may be individuals here today who are undocumented and others who are documented non-citizens, but I believe that most of us here today are individuals who were born in this country, and there are individuals amongst us who have gone through the arduous naturalization process.

For those of us who are natural-born citizens, we have been given an incredible gift, totally undeserved, the gift of citizenship, and what we do with that gift can be incredibly impactful. It doesn’t matter your political party affiliation, if you are not voting or periodically contacting your legislators, those are lost opportunities to be God’s hand in this suffering world.

Today, every day we need to speak out: speak out against injustice; speak out against hate; speak out against fear. We need to speak in favor of making sure that everyone, to the best of our ability, is clothed, housed, educated, is safe from violence and abuse, and for today’s discussion, all are fed.

We can do this in the comfort of our home, you don’t need to demonstrate in Washington DC; being an American citizen we should not fear to cast a ballot, write, or call our legislators. In fact, they encourage us to do so. It is comforting for them to know that you “have their backs”!!

This year’s Offering of Letters will again be virtual. Info on how to participate is here. We also ask you to contact us if you will be participating, since we will bring to the altar, the following Sunday, an envelope with the number of individuals who participated.

Thank you!!

Click here to participate in this year’s Bread for World Offering of Letters!