Restore SNAP

"Feed the hungry" is one of the clearest calls to people of faith in scripture. It is also the basis of one of St. Martin's three major community engagement priorities. SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) plays a vital role in feeding America's children.

Below is an article we have shared on social media that outlines new proposals that could seriously affect how families qualify for food assistance, and how children specifically are affected in regards to free and reduced school breakfast and lunch costs. 

We are lucky here in the Philadelphia Public School District that ALL students currently receive free breakfast & lunch- however, this proposal could also affect how schools qualify based on the needs of their population.

The USDA has reopened the public comment period for this proposal until NOVEMBER 1st, 2019 (that's next Friday). We have a short time to make our concerns known. Please read through this article & consider your position. If you feel moved to do so, please leave a comment with the USDA.

Read the PBS news article on this subject:

PBS article

Visit the USDA comment page to leave your comment electronically.

USDA Comment page

Below is a form letter that you can use or adjust as you see fit, to send along to the USDA either on the comment page above, or by mail, before the end of their comment period on November 1, 2019. We have copies of this letter at St. Martin's in the Parish House lobby that you can sign and send on Sunday morning as well.

Mr. Stephen L. Censky

Deputy Secretary USDA

Office of Policy Support

Food and Nutrition Service USDA

3101 Park Center Dr.

Alexandria, VA 22302

Dear Mr. Censky,

As a person of faith, I am writing to oppose the proposed rule change to SNAP that will take benefits away from hundreds of thousands of citizens and cause suffering to children in under-resourced schools. The proposed rule (ID: FNS-2018-0037-16542) will gut broad-based categorical eligibility, take away free school lunches from hundreds of thousands of children, and create a benefit cliff for families already struggling with poverty-level incomes.  

I am asking for the USDA to retain the current categorical eligibility standards for broad-based eligibility in the SNAP program. SNAP is the most effective program we have for combating hunger and supplementing income for marginal households while supporting neighborhood groceries and American agriculture.  

Food security is a basic human right and our faith traditions teach that care for the hungry is a primary obligation for any just society. Please reject this rule change for the good of our most vulnerable citizens and take a stand for the moral decency of our republic.

Sincerely,

(Name) 

(Address)

Infinite God

“Christian faith claims that the eternal truth and wisdom of God spoke most completely in a single human life and death…. To receive his truth is neither to acquire a theory about the universe nor to escape from time into a reconciled eternity, but to embrace the struggle to be faithful to within the limits of being a creature with a body and a biography. So, in this context, not even God becomes an object that will satisfy my longing and my incompleteness. I must learn in this life to accept the fact that hunger and restlessness are part of what I am made for. To love God is not to acquire the biggest and best gratification of all but to have my whole experience of love transfigured. Instead of the manic struggle to fill the gap in my heart, which leads me to the exploitation and domination (manipulation) of others and of my whole world, I acknowledge that I am never going to feel cosily at one with myself, all desires gratified; my longing opens out on the horizon of the infinite God."

- Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams

Getting Clear

The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel

Over the past several Sundays we have collected your responses to our survey about how to clarify our call to engage within the three causes named below. We collected a total of 44 responses. At our next two forums we'll continue to explore these suggestions.

1. hunger
2. education
3. climate change

Under hunger there were several mentions of participating and increasing food access and distribution, childhood hunger - both during and outside of the school year, continuing SUPPER, and gardening. Where will these and other responses guide our hunger focus?

Under education people spoke of advocating for equitable and fair funding, literacy, and acknowledging racial disparities. How should we narrow our education focus?

Under climate change people named a variety of actions from the individual to the corporate, and from advocacy to education. Several just wanted to know where to begin with awareness and education. With so many options, what can we do well and faithfully together in our climate change focus?

For new focuses people named immigration and refugee services, voting rights, racial justice, the opioid crisis, and prison reform, among others. Which of these calls on our hearts is great enough to address as a community?

This Sunday, at parish forum, we begin to refine your suggestions. We'll continue the discussion at the March 31st parish forum, specifically looking at the role of advocacy and social justice in our work. We have active, fun, and creative programs designed for both days. 

These two forums will help us create a path into our future. This is your chance to be a part of that discussion, to feel and name the call of God on this parish. Please join us.

Blessings,
The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel
Rector

Links:
Progress Report: 5 Years of Community Engagement

Clarify Our Community Engagement Causes!

The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel

Five years ago, the congregation engaged a process called “Nominate Your Causes” to discover what our community engagement priorities should be at St. Martin’s. Through a process of polling the congregation and conversations at Parish Forum, we landed squarely on three top priorities which would direct our community engagement efforts:

1. hunger
2. education
3. climate change

Read more about our progress on each of these causes in our Progress Report: 5 Years of Community Engagement. 

For the next four Sundays, the Community Engagement Committee is asking you to help us Clarify our Causes. The committee is committed to grounding our work in priorities set by the parish community.
 
What specific areas under these broad umbrella priorities would you like us to address with programming, organizing, action, and funding? For example under climate change, you could specify “gas mileage standards,” or “eliminate fracking” or “alternative energy sources.”


On Sunday, March 3 and Sunday, March 10 we will distribute a quick survey in the worship bulletin for you to use to make your suggestions. This survey is also available online. We will collect your suggestions and bring them back to the parish for further discussion and refinement at the March 24 Parish Forum. The March 31st Parish Forum will continue our parish discussion about the role of advocacy and social justice in our work. We have active, fun, and creative programs designed for both days.


Please join us and be a part of visioning the future of community engagement at St. Martin’s.


Blessings,
The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel
Rector



Links:
Progress Report: 5 Years of Community Engagement
Clarify our Causes survey