Rising food prices and decreasing funds are taking a toll on local Catholic Charities agencies across the country as they try to keep pace with an increasing demand for services, according to Catholic Charities USA, which urged Congressional members in early May to make greater investments in programs that will lift people out of poverty.
"More working families are having trouble putting food on the table," Candy Hill, senior vice president of policy and government affairs for Catholic Charities USA, told the Republican Study Committee, a group of over 110 House Republicans organized for the purpose of advancing a conservative social and economic agenda in the House of Representatives. "I'm here on behalf of the nearly 8 million people Catholic Charities agencies serve to ask you to make a commitment to free families of hunger and economic hardship."
"Hunger should not be a political issue, when, in fact, it is a moral issue," added Hill. "There is no reason 35 million people in 
this country should go to bed hungry."
As part of its Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America, Catholic Charities USA is asking Congress to help individuals avoid hunger, which is a symptom of poverty by:
- Passing the 2007 Farm Bill to provide more nutition assistance to vulnerable families
- Adequately funding programs to meet the growing needs of families, children, seniors and communities
- Strengthening critical child welfare
"All individuals should be able to have adequate food, water, health care and housing in order to maintain their human dignity," stated Hill. "I am not here to place blame. I am here to help identify stratgeis so all of us can work together to provide help and create hope for those in need."
In the Diocese of Youngstown, food insecrutiy is becoming more and more of an issue as the cost of groceries continues to rise. Through the first quarter of 2008, 551 people have received food assistance from Catholic Charities. Catholic Charities of Portage County and Catholic Charities of Stark County maintain small pantries on-site so that when clients come to the agencies for help, they can leave with a couple days supply of grocieries. All of the agencies use food vouchers redeemable at local grocery stores to help families purchase perishable necessities, such as milk, eggs and meat.
At the Catholic Charities Senior Center in East Liverpool, a program of Catholic Charities Regional Agency, 4,824 home-delivered and carry-out meals have been prepared and 266 on-site meals have been served through the first quarter of 2008. This important program helps to ensure that older adults - the majority of whom are on fixed incomes - receive an affordable, nutritious meal. Sixty-seven percent (67%) of those who participate in the Senior Center's meal program have incomes below the Federal Poverty Guildeline. Only about twenty percent (20%) actually recieve public assistance, which includes food stamp benefits.
Would you like to help Catholic Charities feed the hungry? Here's how you can get involved:
- Contact the Catholic Charities agency nearest you and find out if they maintain a food pantry. If they do, ask what they currently need and help them restock. If the agency does not have a pantry onsite, arrange to make a donation for food vouchers. Gift cards for grocery stores are always welcome at any agency.
- Volunteer at Catholic Charities Senior Center in East Liverpool. To find out more, contact Mary Cunningham at 330-385-4732.
- Educate yourself on federal programs that help fight hunger, and encourage your legislators to support and enhance programs that put food on the tables of need families.
For more detailed information, you can visit these sites:
Food Stamp Program
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
Commodity and Supplemntal Food Program (CSFP)
The Emergency Food ASsistance Program (TEFAP)
Office of Social Action Tackles Issue on Local Poverty
The Diocesan Office of Social Action is currently involved with two important initiatives to reduce poverty in the Mahoning Valley.
The Office of Social Action/Catholic Campaign for Human Development is partnering with the Wean Foundation to engage grassroots leaders (persons living in or who have broken out of poverty; academics, government, non profit and for profit) in the Mahoning Valley to 1) discuss the experience of poverty, 2)analyze root causes, 3) review the national and local literature of structural issues around poverty, and 4) investigate actions/activities/processes/projects that could work in a local area. Check out this Participatory Leadership Project website and/or join this effort.
The Office of Social Action/Catholic Campaign for Human Development is working with a local group in the Mahoning Valley to establish a Time Bank: The Time Bank of the Mahoning Watershed. See Time Banks, Washington, D. C., the website for the Washington, D. C.-based alternative currency project. http://www.timebanks.org/
Nationally, 36.5 million people live in poverty, and Catholic Charities agencies serve more than 7.8 million people each year. How can you help Catholic Charities reach its goal of reducing poverty in half by the year 2020? Visit the Catholic Charities USA website at www.catholiccharitiesusa.org and endorse the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America. Check this website often for updates on what Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Youngstown is doing to eliminate local poverty.
