Catholic Relief Services on frontlines for Global Advocacy Week

Ahead of federal budget negotiations for the coming fiscal year, New York Catholics will meet with their members of Congress to advocate for continued funding for U.S. and international food security. Catholics from eight New York dioceses will fan out across the state to make their voices heard during Global Advocacy Week (March 18-22).  

 The administration, which is expected to release its Presidential Budget Request for the next fiscal year, has proposed steep cuts to federally funded hunger alleviation programming over the past two budget cycles. However, Congress has consistently  pushed back on those cuts.  

“The message that our Catho­lic coalition from New York intends to send during this week of advocacy is that it’s our moral obligation as Americans and as Catho­lics to protect programming that helps alleviate the suffering of the world’s most vulnerable,” said Michael Lawler, Director for Catholic Charities at the New York State Catholic Conference. “It’s also our hope that members of this network can strengthen relationships with returning members of Congress as well as establish new ones with freshman legislators—all in support of those we collectively serve.” 

The Global Advocacy Week is organized by Catholic Relief Services, the international aid agency of the U.S. Catholic Church, in partnership with Catholic Charities USA, the Church’s domestic poverty alleviation agency. 

Sister Betsy Van Deusen, CSJ, Director of Community Partnerships for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) said hunger, both domestic and global, is not usually on the minds of most people.

“It’s often a passing story in the news but the impact that is happen in countries all over the world in extraordinary,” she said. “For the most part we go about our little ways and don’t pay attention to what is going on in the world.”

According to the Food Research & Action Center, approximately 7.8 million families in New York state don’t have enough food to eat. And while America’s economy is approaching a record low of unemployment, the number of Americans who are food insecure continues to grow. Today, it’s estimated that approximately 40 million Americans are food insecure, including one in six children. 

Internationally, according to the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Famine Early Warning System, which analyzes food insecurity in 46 countries, 83 million people are expected to need food assistance in 2019, up 7 million from the year before.  

During the week, supporters of Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities from across the state will meet with the offices of Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), as well as offices of New York’s delegation from the House of Representatives, to advocate for funding for a number of domestic nutrition programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Women, Infants and Children program (WIC).

“(We want) to help people recognize that these folks are your people to talk … to have a relationship with and to challenge and engage them is really important,” Sister Betsy said. 

 These programs collectively provide food assistance to more than 40 million Americans annually. In addition, they will advocate for funding for international and domestic food assistance programs, including Food for Peace and the McGovern-Dole school feeding program, which provides food to more than 3 million families annually.  

“Our Catholic faith calls us to honor the dignity of every human being. We must ensure that all people have regular access to enough nutritious food,” Lawler said.