Bringing the farm bill to church
Two Montevideo women are taking their case to the churches of west central Minnesota.
"It is a moral argument," said Vicki Poier, to explain why she and friend Allison Hutchens want to bring discussion about the 2007 farm bill into area churches.
At the heart of the matter is their concern about hunger. The farm bill represents our opportunity ”-- indeed our responsibility, to do something about it, said Poier.
Poier farms north of Montevideo. Hutchens is an elementary teacher with the Montevideo Public Schools. Early in June in Washington, D.C., they attended an interfaith convocation focused on ending hunger, sponsored by a nonprofit organization known as Bread for the World.
They returned convinced of the "power of the faith community to bring change," the two said.
Much of the change they'd like to see is right here in rural Minnesota. Hunger is largely an invisible problem here, but far more widespread than people might imagine, they said.
Food shelf usage in Chippewa County has increased by 12 to 15 percent in each of the last five years. Last year, the food shelf served 1,003 households, including 1,577 children and 1,899 adults.
The numbers continue to rise: As of April, 33 more households were first-time users of the food shelf.
Other rural counties are experiencing the same. Poier said they contacted the Renville County food shelf and learned that usage has jumped from 556 families in 2000 to 1,514 in 2004 and 2,085 families in 2006.
Stricter eligibility guidelines for food stamps” a component of the farm bill” makes it difficult for many people to obtain the help, said the two women. Yet each month, 26.7 million people in the U.S. use food stamps, according to information from Bread for the World.
Poier and Hutchens point out that food stamps provide roughly $3 a day per person in help. That forces families to purchase low-cost foods that are high in calories and low in nutritional value, said Hutchens.
The farm bill also shapes the menu we serve our children in school. It provides bulk commodities to schools and consequently limits the ability of schools to serve locally produced food choices such as fresh vegetables or fruits, said Hutchens.
Yet for many children, the breakfast and lunches they are served at school represent their primary source of nutrition, she said.
In the Montevideo schools, 40 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals, said Hutchens.
It speaks to another issue. Poverty in Minnesota and the nation as a whole is very much a rural issue.
They believe that changes to the farm bill could bring economic opportunities to rural areas. They'd like to see a cap placed on the amount of agricultural subsidies that can be paid to any one farm. The current system provides the majority of subsidies to large producers, and as a result, they said, we are losing small, family farms from the landscape.
"As a farmer I don't like to be part of the problem, I want to be part of the solution," said Poier.
She's also like to see changes to support farms that raise foods destined for local markets, and reward those that employ good stewardship practices.
Poier and Hutchens said their opportunity to meet with people from all faiths during their trip to Washington, D.C., showed them how individuals can make a difference. They heard stories from people all over the country who are finding ways to reduce hunger, they said.
"We have the resources to solve world hunger, they said. It's the political will that is lacking," said Poier.
She and Hutchens believe that the area's faith community has a unique opportunity right now to have its voice heard. U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., is chairman of the Agriculture Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. Along with bringing their message to area churches, they are looking forward to having his ear as well.
