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Bread for the World founder: People can end hunger |
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By Dave Hrbacek
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Wednesday, 04 November 2009 |
The Catholic Spirit photographer Dave Hrbacek recently interviewed Art Simon, 79, founder of Bread for the World, about his new book, “The Rising of Bread for the Poor,” and the organization’s efforts to end hunger.
Art Simon, center, lobbies for issues that concern Bread for the World. - Photo courtesy of Bread for the World
Talk about how you started Bread for the World.
I had gathered a group of Catholics and Protestants together to figure out how we could mobilize a nonpartisan, national outcry of citizens against hunger. Bread for the World emerged from that. . . .
I grew up thinking life is a gift from God and meant to be given back
to God. So, a lot of things sprang from that, from my baptism and from
my faith. But, the immediate context was my years as a pastor on the
lower east side of Manhattan in New York. . . . We were responding
with emergency help and began to realize that much more was needed if
we were going to help people escape the grip of hunger and poverty. My
dad used to say, “Better to build a fence at the top of the cliff than
have an ambulance at the bottom.” And, we were driving the ambulance.
Bread for the World emerged as a way of building a fence.
Churches all over the place were doing direct assistance. But,
virtually nothing was done to challenge Christians to use their
citizenship to reach the nation’s policy makers and help shape national
policies that have an impact on hungry people. That really gave birth
to Bread for the World.
The writing of letters is the cornerstone of Bread for the World today. Describe what it is and how it got started.
The offering of letters emerged from a conversation of people in the
congregation that I served during one Wednesday evening during Lent.
Hunger was the topic and one of the mothers said, “Why don’t we do an
offering of letters to our congressman, Leonard Farbstein, and ask him
to get Congress to do some things to change the situation.” That was
really the thing that triggered the idea.
Why do you believe so strongly in this approach?
It is a powerful way of getting the attention of members of
Congress and of getting them to support and act on the proposals that
we are pushing.
How many such letters are written each year?
Anywhere from 100,000 to a couple hundred thousand or more.
In a culture of computers and e-mail, how do legislators react to handwritten letters?
Letters have more impact because members of Congress and
congressional aids know that, if people take the time to write a
letter, it [issue] is more personal. It takes more time, there’s more
care given to it than dashing off an e-mail that might only take a
minute or two [to write]. And, often, the e-mails come in the form of
the click of a mouse for a message that somebody else has written.
What difference has Bread for the World made in alleviating hunger?
We estimate that, on average, just measured in dollars — we’ll have a
leveraging impact of a billion dollars or more each year through
programs like U.S. Foreign Aid, like the Jubilee Debt Reduction
Campaign, pushing for domestic food and nutrition programs and,
sometimes, trade and investment policies.
What are its goals for the future?
We’re right in the middle of some very exciting things that are
happening and beginning to happen in terms of our foreign assistance.
My successor, David Beckmann, five weeks ago, got a call from the White
House saying that President Obama had just signed a directive for a
government-wide, White House initiated study of our global development
policy related to poor countries. We’ve been pushing for that for a
couple of years. And, when Obama was a senator, he was pushing for it,
too. So, we’re not entirely surprised that he’s given a go-ahead signal
on that. That can make a huge difference. At the same time, he’s
pledged a U.S. contribution of an additional $3.5 billion over the next
three years for agricultural development in poor countries. Other donor
countries have matched that for a total of $20 million pledged.
. . . Along with some legislation we are now pushing in the House and
the Senate, we think it’ll pave the way for next year to have a major
rewrite of our foreign aid bill, which hasn’t been totally rewritten
since 1961.
You were succeeded as president by David Beckmann in 1991, but are still involved. What do you do for the organization, today?
I serve on the board and various committees, I do occasional speaking, and I do a lot of writing.
 Talk about your most recent book, “The Rising of Bread for the World.”
It’s an autobiography. The story really began in my childhood with what
Paul [brother] and I learned from our parents. Our life in Christ was
everything. And, everything emerged from that — Paul’s career in public
service that led to the U.S. Senate and my role in the founding of
Bread [for the World]. “The Rising of Bread for the World” tells that
story and other things that fashioned my life over the years, and then
the story of my experience on the lower east side [of New York City] as
a parish pastor and how that life with people of poverty here in the
[United] States opened up an idea of a citizens’ movement against
hunger.
You met Dorothy Day/visited a Catholic Worker House in New York City back when you were a seminarian. What was that like?
I would go down there occasionally on Friday nights when they would have their public events.
She was just a remarkable person with a whole history [of serving the poor in New York City].
How did meeting her/visiting the house affect you?
It played right into my own sense of God’s passion for people who are
poor, people who are marginalized in our society. Clearly, the Gospel
is pushing us in that direction, and saying, “the love of God has
reached you in Christ. Now, it calls you to reach out to others.” The
model of Christ’s own life among the poor and the outcast is still a
model for us.
There has been talk over the years about eliminating hunger altogether. Do you think this is possible? Why?
The idea that hunger is inevitable, that it’s unsolvable, that there is
little or nothing any of us can do toward bringing hunger to an end, is
just not true. And, I think the story of Bread for the World
demonstrates that. . . . When I was a kid, President Roosevelt talked
about two thirds of the World going hungry. When Bread [for the world]
began, it was 35 percent. Two years ago, it was 15 percent — probably
17 percent now because of global recession and a spike in food and
energy costs.
So, we’ve got an immediate hunger crisis on our hands. It’s pushed us
in the wrong direction. But, overall, you look at the long haul, there
has been dramatic improvement. Within one lifetime, the vast majority
of the world’s population has experienced an exodus out of hunger. That
is a historic accomplishment. I think it’s the work of God and I think
God calls us to help complete the exodus.
What is the biggest obstacle in completing the exodus?
Too many Christians who care compassionately about hungry people and
who are engaged in helping through direct assistance . . . are saying,
“Well, it’s not going to help any by raising my voice to my elected
officials in Washington.” The evidence shows it would make a huge
difference.
How important a partner is the Catholic Church in this?
The Catholic Church has been, by far, the major denomination in terms
of membership in Bread for the World, and leadership, for that matter.
. . . When I left, I think about 37 percent of our membership was Roman
Catholic. And, of the 14 people who served on our organizing
committee, half of them were Catholic. One of them, Father Bill Byron,
a Jesuit priest who was president of Catholic University of America for
10 years, was one of the initial founders and served on the board many
years, and served as chair of the board, too. Catholics have played a
huge role, the religious communities have been very active in Bread
[for the World].
Are you satisfied with what your organization has accomplished, or are you more focused on what still needs to be done?
I suppose it’s a combination of both. But, I’m more focused on what still remains to be done.
What advice/encouragement do you have for Catholics who wish to get involved in the issue of hunger?
You can’t be an advocate as a lone ranger. . . . People have to work
with others to get information about specific hunger issues as they
surface, so they can write letters about that in a timely fashion. And,
that’s what makes the difference, not that we’re 61,000 scattered
individuals, each operating on our own, but that we’re 61,000 people
working together with common information and acting in concert when the
time is right.
You’ve seen a lot of what’s happening with hunger worldwide. What do you see happening in the U.S.?
We’ve hovered around the 12 percent mark in terms of people below the
poverty line, roughly equivalent to the number of people who are hungry
or food insecure. That would be a relatively easy thing to erase, as
prosperous as our nation is. It would cost money, yes, but it would be
money well invested.
Anything else you would like to add?
No. 1, our faith leads us to become advocates. [Old Testament Book of]
Proverbs says speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.
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