Fighting Poverty With Faith

We’ve received the follwing message from Catholic Charities USA:
Every day, faith organizations serve individuals in need within our communities. But our efforts to sustain our brothers and sisters living in poverty must be complemented with a serious plan of action from our political leaders to reduce the number of needy.
Fighting Poverty with Faith is building a nationwide, interfaith movement to cut domestic poverty in half by 2020. Each of our communities works tirelessly to reduce poverty, but unless we come together our reach is limited. Coordinated interfaith action is essential in our work to overcome poverty in the United States.
The annual Fighting Poverty with Faith mobilization focuses on addressing root causes of poverty. We enlist the moral authority and organizing power of the faith community to ensure meeting the needs of those living in poverty is a national priority. This mobilization utilizes the strength of the coordinated faith community to move individuals and communities to action and advocate for clear, immediate policy solutions to address the root causes of poverty.
The 2011 Fighting Poverty with Faith mobilization will take place Thursday, October 27 – Sunday, November 6th. The 2011 theme is “Working Together to End Hunger.”

Join us today by participating in the Food Stamp Challenge – a challenge to live for 1 week on the average food stamp allotment. Leaders and community members across the nation are taking the Food Stamp Challenge in order to help them better understand how the program works on a personal level and to highlight the continued need for and importance of feeding programs to alleviate hunger in the United States.
For one week, from Thursday, October 27th through Thursday, November 3rd, participants will live on the nationwide average food stamp benefit. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is responsible for administering the Food Stamp Program, the nationwide average monthly benefit in 2010 was $133.79, approximately $4.50 a day or $1.50 a meal.

For more information or to register as a participant in the Challenge, go to http://www.fightingpovertywithfaith.com/.