Bread for the World Institute, Inc.

Summary

Bread for the World Institute (BFWI) seeks justice for hungry people by engaging in research and education on policies related to hunger and development. BFWI researches and educates people on how to take effective action. BFWI works closely with its colleague organization, Bread for the World (BFW). With 56,000 members nationwide, BFW organizes people at the grassroots level to lobby their members of Congress on issues that address the root causes of hunger and poverty. Neither BFWI nor BFW provide direct relief or development assistance. Rather, they focus on using the power members have as citizens in a democracy to influence how government decisions affect hungry people. Every year, Bread for the World Institute publishes a report on the state of world hunger. Bread for the World Institute recently launched a new electronic newsletter called Trade Matters. It focuses on issues of trade policy, such as the Brazilian Cotton Case and the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum. Bread for the World is a nonpartisan organization whose members include Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. The organization is also supported by 45 denominations and many theological perspectives. Contributions to Bread for the World Institute, Inc. are fully deductible; however, contributions to Bread for the World are not.

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Organization Details [ Back to top ]

Purpose [ Back to top ]

Bread for the World Institute (BFWI) seeks justice for hungry people by engaging in research and education on policies related to hunger and development. BFWI believes citizen activists need to know which policy changes will empower hungry people to become better able to feed themselves. BFWI researches those changes and educates people on how to take effective action. BFWI works closely with its colleague organization, Bread for the World (BFW). With 56,000 members nationwide, BFW organizes people at the grassroots level to lobby their members of Congress on issues that address the root causes of hunger and poverty. Neither BFWI nor BFW provide direct relief or development assistance. Rather, they focus on using the power members have as citizens in a democracy to influence how government decisions affect hungry people.

Every year, Bread for the World Institute publishes a report on the state of world hunger. As part of the Institute's commitment to anti-hunger education, the report strengthens the anti-hunger movement by analyzing the causes of and solutions to the problem of hunger.

Bread for the World Institute recently launched a new electronic newsletter called Trade Matters. It focuses on issues of trade policy, such as the Brazilian Cotton Case and the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum.

BFWI is a partner in the ONE Campaign. The ONE Campaign is an effort to unite people in the United States, ONE by ONE, to fight the emergencies of extreme poverty, hunger and HIV/AIDS in the developing world. Through raising awareness, education and action, ONE mobilizes citizens to make hungry and poor people a priority in the policies of the United States government.

Bread for the World is a nonpartisan organization whose members include Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. The organization is also supported by 45 denominations and many theological perspectives. Bread for the World is a grassroots advocacy network on hunger issues, and also accounts for most of the constituent lobbying that is done in the United States on behalf of poor people overseas.

Contributions to Bread for the World Institute, Inc. are fully deductible; however, contributions to Bread for the World are not.

Mission Statement [ Back to top ]

BFW Institute uses the following to express its mission:

BFW Institute seeks justice for hungry people by engaging in research and education on policies related to hunger and development.

Program Accomplishments [ Back to top ]

Accomplishments for Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2005

1. The Institute released its 2006 Hunger Report, Frontline Issues in Nutrition Assistance, which calls for increased investment in nutrition assistance in the United States and worldwide.
2. The Institute added an analyst to advocate and educate on trade issues that are important to hungry and poor people. The analyst met repeatedly with White House and State Department officials.
3. Bread for the World Institute currently serves as the secretariat for The Alliance to End Hunger. This organization, originally formed by BFWI, has been operating independently since 2004. The Alliance’s mission is to engage diverse institutions more deeply in an effort to win the shifts in U.S. public opinion, institutions and policy that could dramatically reduce hunger in the United States and internationally.

1. Late in 2005, the Institute received a grant to expand its work to make development assistance programs more effective. Throughout 2006, the Institute will continue its research, education, and analysis to achieve changes in U.S. agricultural and trade policies that will help to reduce global poverty.
2. BFWI is currently working on the 2007 Hunger Report, which will be focused on the pending legislation of the Farm Bill in the Agricultural Committee. This is important to the Institute because farming legislation will affect nutrition programs for the poor and hungry.
3. The Institute will continue to work as a partner in the ONE Campaign in continuing efforts to make the hungry and poor a priority in U.S. Government policies.

Statement of Faith [ Back to top ]

Bread to World expresses its biblical perspective in the following way:

(From Grace at the Table: Ending Hunger in God's World, by David Beckmann and Art Simon. Published by Paulist Press and InterVarsity Press. Copyright 1999 by Bread for the World Institute.)

Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?


If you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
—Isaiah 58:6 & 10 (NRSV)

What the Old Testament says about hunger and poverty
Two main themes run through the Bible concerning hunger. The first is God's providence. The second is our responsibility to take care of the earth and one another. Both themes reflect the will of God that everyone be adequately fed.

These themes emerge in the very first pages of the Old Testament or Hebrew scriptures, when God places Adam and Eve in a lush garden with an abundance of food and tells them to replenish the earth and take care of it. The subsequent account of Cain murdering his brother Abel sends the clear message from God that we are our brother's and sister's keeper.

Both themes—God's providence and our responsibility for one another—emerge dramatically in the exodus from Egypt. God's liberation of the Hebrew people from slavery echoes through the entire Old Testament, informing its faith and its ethical instruction. The exodus experience shaped the laws, informed the prophets and became deeply embedded in worship by the Hebrew people.

Over and over the law instructs Israelites to remember the foreigner (i.e., the immigrant), the orphan and the widow—those most vulnerable to hunger and poverty—and ties this instruction to the exodus. Look at Deuteronomy:

When you gather your crops and fail to bring in some of the grain that you have cut, do not go back for it; it is to be left for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. . . . When you have gathered your grapes once, do not go back over the vines a second time; the grapes that are left are for the foreigners, orphans and widows. Never forget that you were slaves in Egypt; that is why I have given you this command. (24:19-22 TEV)

Other laws provided for sharing one-tenth of the harvest with immigrants, orphans and widows (Dt 14:28-29), for lending at no interest to those in need (Ex 22:25), and for the cancellation of debts every seventh year (Dt 15:1-2, 7-11). Every fiftieth year was to be a Year of Jubilee during which property was to be returned to the family of the original owner. The intent of this law, which may never have been carried out, was to prevent the concentration of wealth and make sure that each family had the means to feed itself.

What Old Testament says about justice
The prophets, too, insisted on justice for everyone. Amos, for example, denounced those who trampled on the needy and destroyed the poor in order to gain wealth. He railed against those who lived in luxury while the poor were being crushed.

The prophets' main judgments were leveled against idolatry and social injustice. The living God insists on personal morality and social justice, while idols offer fertility and prosperity without social responsibility.

The Psalms (the hymns of ancient Israel) invite us to celebrate God's justice.

[God] always keeps his promises; he judges in favor of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. (146:6-7 TEV)

Happy are those who are concerned for the poor; the Lord will help them when they are in trouble. (41:1 TEV)

The wisdom literature in the Old Testament expresses the same theme, as these texts from Proverbs indicate:

If you refuse to listen to the cry of the poor, your own cry will not be heard. (21:13 TEV)

Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute. [Defend the rights of the poor and needy. (31:8-9 TEV)

Concern for poor, hungry and vulnerable people is pervasive in the Hebrew Scriptures. It flows directly from the revelation of God through the rescue of an enslaved people.

Themes in the New Testament
The New Testament ethic builds on the Hebrew Scriptures. Its teachings emerge from a divine act of salvation—the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because "the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" conquered sin and death for us, we are forgiven, reconciled to God, born anew to be imitators of God, called to sacrificial love for others. Through the gift of eternal life, Jesus sets us free to make the doing of good our purpose in life (Eph 2:8-10).

The nature of the good we are to do is not left in doubt, for we have the example of Jesus himself. He had a special sense of mission to poor and oppressed people—evidence that, in him, the messianic promises were being fulfilled. At the outset of his ministry, Jesus stood up in the synagogue at Nazareth and read from the prophet Isaiah:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. (Lk 4:18-19)

The gospels depict Jesus repeatedly reaching out to those at the bottom of the social pyramid--poor people, women, Samaritans, lepers, children, prostitutes and tax collectors. Jesus was also eager to accept people who were well-placed, but he made clear that all, regardless of social position, needed to repent. For this reason he invited the rich young lawyer to sell all of his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor.

In his portrayal of the day of judgment, Jesus pictured people from all nations gathered before him. To the "sheep" he says, "Come you blessed of my Father, for I was hungry and you fed me. . . ." In their astonishment they ask, "When did we do that?" And he answers, "When you did it to the lowliest of my brothers (and sisters)." Conversely, to the "goats" he says, "Out of my sight, you who are condemned, for I was hungry and you did not feed me. . . ." (Mt 25:31-46, paraphrased)

Clearly, in both Old and New Testaments the intention of God that all people find a place at the table is combined with a responsibility on our part for those who are most vulnerable, those most often kept from the table. This intention flows from the heart of God, who reaches out in love to all of us--rich, poor and in between.

What Scripture says about advocacy
Churches are already doing a lot to take care of hungry people directly through charity work. By one estimate, religious congregations give $7 billion each year (about one-seventh of their total revenue) to people in need (New York Times, 3 February 1995). But Christians devote much less effort to influencing what governments do.

God, however, requires both charity and justice, and justice can often be achieved only through the mechanism of government. The view that nations, as well as individuals, will be judged by the way they treat the weakest and most vulnerable among them is deeply embedded in the witness of prophets such as Isaiah, who said:

How terrible it will be for those who make unfair laws, and those who write laws that make life hard for people. They are not fair to the poor, and they rob my people of their rights. They allow people to steal from widows and to take from orphans what really belongs to them. (Is 10:1-2 NCV)

Jesus criticized and disobeyed laws when they got in the way of helping people. He healed people on the Sabbath, for example, even though all work was prohibited on the Sabbath. Religion and government were intermixed, so Jesus was challenging the law of the land. The threat Jesus posed to both religious and political authorities led to his crucifixion.

Government is not the only or always the best instrument to deal with hunger. But it is one of the institutions created by God—part of God's providence—for the welfare of people. Because we live in a democracy, a nation with a government "of the people," we have a special privilege and responsibility to use the power of our citizenship to promote public justice and reduce hunger.

History [ Back to top ]

Bread for the World uses the following to express its History:

In October 1972, a small group of Catholics and Protestants met to reflect on how persons of faith could be mobilized to influence U.S. policies that address the causes of hunger. Under the leadership of the Reverend Arthur Simon, the group began to test the idea in the spring of 1973. By year's end, more than 500 people had joined the ranks of Bread for the World as citizen advocates for hungry people. This small group has grown to a nationwide movement of more than 44,000 members. In September 1991, the Reverend David Beckmann succeeded Simon as president.

Ministry Needs [ Back to top ]

This organization has not offered MinistryWatch.com with specific needs to be posted on the profile. At such a time that MinistryWatch.com receives a response from the ministry, it will be posted immediately.

Research Analysis

Transparency Grade [ Back to top ]

MinistryWatch.com 5 Star Financial Efficiency Ratings [ Back to top ]

Ranking Category	Rating	Overall Rank	Advocacy Sector
Overall Efficiency Rating		166 of 347	12 of 22
Fund Acquisition Decision		221 of 347	11 of 22
Resource Allocation Decision		63 of 347	2 of 22
Asset Utilization Decision		239 of 347	16 of 22