Every religious faith tradition teaches the idea of love and to care for those who are weak.
It is heartless that our government choses to reduce the food stamp or voucher allocations of families during this recession. I spoke with families who received the shocking surprise of seeing their November allotment cut by $10 - $27. In one case the family had received $90 a month and it was reduced to $63 a month. That's almost a 30% reduction. How does the US Government expect a family to be able to adjust to such a immediate lost of support?
Within the faith community it is clearly time to address this issue head on. We need a system of cooperative food buying and distribution. We need a different model of grocery store within these communities. A non-profit and for-profit hybrid that distributes fresh fruits and vegetables for free with dry goods and can goods for sale at a marginal profit. We will need to expand our network of soup kitchens and food pantries. I'm seeing an increase in requests for support from the modest food pantry we have at Union Baptist Church. No way we will be able to respond in an holistic way without the collective energies of people of good well working together to fill this gap in service.
It is a heartless government that refuses to provide a safety net for its citizens during these times of high recession.
If you are able to feed your family during this time, consider yourself extremely blessed.
If you are on the margin and life is a struggle, seek a real relationship with a faith community not asking for a hand-out but joining in the faith with them to work through these times together. God is with you and you need to be with God.
"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." Hebrews 10:25 (KJV)
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