This Fall, ELCA World Hunger was invited to join leaders from Arizona via Zoom at the first statewide gathering of advocates and friends hosted by Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA).

John Johnson, program director for domestic policy for the ELCA, highlights the importance of this work to the work God calls this church to pursue:

Our return on investment for advocacy is one of the great untold successes of the ELCA. Our federal and state advocacy leverages BILLIONS of public dollars annually for vulnerable populations at home and abroad. In 2020, with COVID-19 recovery packages in Congress, Lutherans have engaged policy makers to the tune of trillions of dollars.

Ryan Cumming spoke about the importance of advocacy in the work and mission of the church and the difference between responding to hunger and ending it.

These reflections are a part of ELCA World Hunger’s Sermon Starter series which is published via email every Monday. You can sign up for the weekly email here on the right side of the page if on a computer or near the bottom of the page if viewing from a phone.

The Rev. Carla Christopher Wilson is the writer of this reflection. Pr. Carla serves as Associate Pastor of Faith Formation and Outreach at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Lancaster, PA. She is also co-chair of Lower Susquehanna Synod’s racial justice task force and a member of LAMPa’s (Lutheran Advocacy Ministry of PA) statewide policy task force. A former Poet Laureate of York, PA and professional cultural competency trainer for the secular business world, Carla’s greatest joy is partnering faith and education with great storytelling.

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Just for fun, try something. Take this short passage and rewrite it as if it was being written about you. Imagine the saints of the church; the missionaries and the fundraisers and the preachers and the public demonstrators who were even willing to go to prison rather than turn their back on the hungry and the poor people that Jesus made a point of eating with and saying the kingdom of heaven was prepared for. Imagine they looked at you and said, “We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, siblings, beloved by God, that he has chosen you.”

How does it feel to be addressed with that much love and gratitude? Do you feel as if you have lived up to those words? Do you feel challenged by them, knowing it was regular neighborhood folks just like you and me who they were written about? One of the glorious things of the early church was how much space was made for everyday people. Regardless of gender, birth, ability, or socioeconomic status, the gifts of salvation and a nurturing earthly community were available without restriction. An image we see repeatedly in scripture that represents what this open and steadfast loving God-family looks like is the table where are all fed. The house with rooms for all. We use that as a frequent ELCA World Hunger tagline as well; a reminder that “until all are fed” isn’t just a fundraising or donation goal-setter, it’s a Biblical call for justice and equity.

On October 16^th we celebrated World Food Day. World Food Day remembers the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United States. As far back as 1945, the United Nations recognized that enough food to eat is not a privilege, but a human right, and created World Food Day, to be observed every year, in1979. Why do we need a holiday to celebrate something that should be so simple as that eradicating hunger is a good thing? We should all get that, right? Well, why do we need such a simple and loving passage in the Bible as this reading from 1 Thessalonians? There are no parables, no miracles, no heavy-laden charges, or complex life-guiding wisdom.

We need both World Food Day and 1 Thessalonians for the simple reason they help us remember to stay encouraged because injustice CAN be ended. Success is possible. We ARE making a difference, and we must continue in our efforts. This passage contains a key reminder to us; stay grateful, keep praying, work in faith, remain steadfast. “The word of the Lord has sounded forth from you… in every place, your faith in God has become known.” Around the world, the table of God is being made bigger and seats are being set at the table, one food pantry or one bag of crop seed or one donated farm animal at a time. I think that’s worth celebrating.

Matthew 22:15-22

Oh, how often do we feel the sharp sting of sarcasm when a sly tongue lashes out at us? Whether it is a family member with a backhanded compliment or a co-worker with a sarcastic aside, there are many names to describe this type of gilded assault. “Microaggression” or “passive aggression” are good examples but they both contain a very telling word: aggression. Even when we coat it with padding to make it more intellectual, more palatable, less uncomfortably confrontational, to be deliberately unkind or flat out mean is an attack. To say something meant to entrap or intended to highlight another’s area of struggle or challenge is an attack. In our reading, we see that attacking another is not the way of Jesus.

In today’s passage, Jesus is the intended victim of an aggressive attack wrapped in a charged conversation that was likely harmless in appearance to an uninformed passerby. Pharisees, (“a member of an ancient Jewish sect, distinguished by strict observance of the traditional and written law, and commonly held to have pretensions to superior sanctity,” according to Oxford Dictionary) are joined by Herodians (“a party that favored the dynasty of Herod and stood for the Roman connection who cared little or nothing for religion and normally were bitterly opposed by the Pharisees,” according to Bible-Studys.org). Jesus is asked about the payment of taxes knowing that if he decrees that money should be given to God over government he will be called treasonous and if he calls for resources to go to the government over the needs of the people he will be denounced by the priests. The dialogue is rife with sarcasm and meant to set up an impossible situation that will make Jesus look a fool. Ironically, when we hear about microaggressions today it is usually the most marginalized among us who are targeted; sly remarks aimed at those speaking English as a second language, or a poor woman holding up a grocery line to pay for necessities with a food stamp card.

Instead of playing into the aggression or repaying injury with insult, Jesus cleverly avoids the trap by saying that both God and the emperor should be given what belongs to them. I like to think it’s because Jesus has the same high school counselor as I did or at least a mentor who gave similar sage advice. Ms. Fran took me aside when I was tempted to react with anger, respond with insult, or rise-up in aggression, and she told me about ‘results-oriented thinking.’ “You are here for a reason child, don’t let anyone distract you. You have bigger fish to fry.”

As I type this, we are heading into certainly the most controversial election season of most of our lifetimes. We are struggling as a country with the most faithful response to a pandemic. I get it. As a pastor and a justice advocate, I’m in the thick of it too. The temptation may be anger or frustration. It may be disengaging and shutting down. As hard as it is, my siblings in Christ, I am asking you to remain focused in this season. As you can read on the ELCA World Hunger website, 821 million people around the world – that’s more than 1 in 10 – can’t access the food they need to live active, healthy lives. We have important work to do my friends. Alongside Jesus, we are called to talk to those willing to listen, to sidestep those who are not, and above all to remain focused on finding creative and dynamic ways to teach and serve the most vulnerable among us. When we refuse the distractions of the devil (and hopefully practice some healthy self-care to strengthen our spirit), like the Pharisees, they often ‘leave us and go away.’

Children’s Sermon

Have a picture of a large sad face or an angry face. Have several smaller cut out hearts. Ask each child to share something they can do that brings them joy or makes them happy. Try to lead them to say something they can do with friends or family or that they can do for others or positive self-care actions such as deep breathing or taking a time-out break. Each time a child offers a suggestion write it on a heart and have the child tape the heart over a part of the sad/angry face. If you are virtual, make the suggestions yourself and let the viewers see the sad/angry face being covered and made to go away by doing kind actions for others. Remind children that the sad or angry face might still be under there and might even come out sometimes and that’s okay, but when it does, God helps up find ways to get through it so we can keep doing the things we love and having fun with our friends and family.

With gratitude for those who have donated to and participated in the ELCA’s COVID-19 Response Fund, ELCA World Hunger is happy to announce another round of Daily Bread Matching Grants this fall. Grant applications are being accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Learn more below.

Hope Springs Up Through Daily Bread Matching Grants

Here in Chicago, the days are growing colder, the daylight hours are growing fewer and the impending arrival of a long winter looms large. As the season changes, we are confronted with the undeniable fact that the pandemic remains with us. Economic prospects are bleak, and hunger is on the rise. Many of us are grieving, lonely or afraid; we are isolated from one another in ways that would have felt inconceivable before this year. At the same time, we face such new challenges as managing virtual school, finding safe ways to vote, and adapting ministries to new models. The change is relentless and exhausting, like the political ads on our televisions and the news predicting a second wave of the virus.

On many days we may feel as if God has left us, God’s people, wandering in the wilderness. But God’s promises of renewal and hope for the future hold true: “Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness” (Isaiah 43:18-19). This is not just a promise for this pandemic time but a standing promise from God for all time. Especially in times such as these, when hope feels scarce, we need to create a space where we can look a little closer and remember the hope we are called to as Christians.

More specifically, this is a time not only to recall the hope we have in Christ intellectually but to “re-member” hope — to relearn that our Christian hope and God’s promise for renewal come to us through the fellow members of our communities. The hope we share as Christians is an embodied hope that shows us where God is already active in our communities and urges us to lend a hand.

Daily Bread Matching Grants — which launched in April, early in the pandemic — utilize the ELCA’s crowdfunding platform and create giving incentives, in the form of $500 matching grants, that have allowed 200 ELCA congregations with feeding ministries to reach out directly to their communities and raise much-needed funds to meet the increased demand for food. The grants enable ELCA congregations to embody hope by providing actual daily bread to their communities.

We are currently accepting applications for a second round of Daily Bread Matching Grants, to be awarded in November. If you would like to apply for a grant or donate to the program, visit ELCA.org/dailybread.

Success Stories From Congregations

The stories that have emerged from the spring round of Daily Bread Matching Grants truly reveal what it means to re-member hope. ELCA World Hunger staff have celebrated countless stories of communities and congregations mobilizing quickly and pivoting to meet the immediate needs of community members and continue our work toward a just world where all are fed — all while keeping their communities safe. Several of those stories are featured in our “Church Together – Apart” video series, which you can explore through the links below.

In Junction City, Ohio, New Lebanon Lutheran Church re-membered hope by creating an online community. Pastor Kristin Santiago explains, “For the first time in 204 years of congregational history, this congregation now has a website, access to online giving and newer social media, which helped us spread the word about the need for matching funds given to the Daily Bread Matching Grant.” Pastor Kristin notes that the pandemic hit her community hard: “Our southeastern, Appalachian Ohio community has lived with high amounts of poverty for a generation following the closure of coal mining and loss of manufacturing jobs. The onset of the pandemic has exacerbated that with more layoffs.”

With new access to online giving, along with traditional forms of giving, New Lebanon was able to raise funds for Shepherd’s Table, the church’s semimonthly feeding ministry. As a result, New Lebanon has been able to increase from 75 to 150 the meals it serves its neighbors every month. Pastor Kristin hopes that the connections made through this grant will continue to help Shepherd’s Table expand the number of meals it serves.

Hope Lutheran Church in Lynden, Wash, re-membered hope by expanding its “backpack buddies” program, which provides food for students and families who rely on free or discounted school lunches. The program’s founder, Tammy Yoder, explained that her community is home to many farmers and migrant farmworkers who were hit hard by the pandemic due to shifting food demands across the country. Tammy and her team used their Daily Bread Matching Grant to provide patrons with ingredients for two full family meals instead of smaller individual meals.

And in Huntington Station, N.Y, Gloria Dei Evangelical Lutheran Church re-membered hope with its food pantry, which has seen demand double in recent months and is the only ministry in the church building that has continued to operate throughout the pandemic. In fact, with the help of a Daily Bread Matching Grant, the congregation has even grown its ministry by working with food banks and other partners in its community. According to Pastor Joel, the congregation had never before used its Facebook page for fundraising. “Within a day or two, we’d already reached that $500 matching goal,” he said. “By the time we were done, we were up over $4,000.”

All told, through online fundraising the 200 congregations participating in the spring’s Daily Bread Matching Grants more than tripled ELCA World Hunger’s contribution toward domestic, community-based feeding ministries. These 200 congregations remind us that, even when days feel dark, hope is not a scarce commodity but an abundant blessing to be shared widely. God is doing a new thing through the members of this church. Do you not perceive it?

It’s hard to overstate the impact COVID-19 has had on our communities and our worship experiences. Summer 2020 has begun with a great deal of uncertainty – about our health, the health and well-being of our neighbors, jobs and more. But these past few months have revealed in surprising ways what we have known by faith – God is still at work in our world, inspiring hope, motivating change and leading us to a brighter future. And many congregations have been hard at work, adapting to meet the new needs and changing landscape of worship and faith formation.

To help with this, ELCA World Hunger is delighted to share an adapted version of this year’s Vacation Bible School: “On Earth As in Heaven…At Home!” This adaptation simplifies some of the activities in the original leader’s guide, offers tips for doing crafts and games at home, and provides links to pre-recorded videos you can share.

“On Earth As in Heaven…At Home” Leader’s Guide

The new leader’s guide for this at-home VBS provides simplified instructions for a shorter schedule, as well as alternative activities for parents or caregivers to use at home. The small-group times from the original format have been re-structured into short bible studies, with tips for hosting an online meeting or for households doing the activity on their own. We also included tips for helping children use a journal as part of the small-group times.

New game ideas have been added with an eye toward smaller households doing them, rather than large groups, and new craft ideas can be done with both younger and older children at home. There are also links to the songs for “On Earth As in Heaven” and to pre-recorded videos.

Videos

We are also happy to share that we have pre-recorded videos for the skits and for the Story Time station for “On Earth As in Heaven!” The skits were recorded and performed by Paige and Alexis Greve. There are five videos – one for each day – and these can be shared, posted to your congregation’s website, or played live during online gatherings. Each skit helps introduce the theme for the day.

There are also five skits that tell the stories of projects supported in part by ELCA World Hunger. ELCA churchwide staff tell the stories in the videos, so in each one, children will meet one person who works for the ELCA and hear the story of our neighbors working to end hunger around the world. Each story also includes some fun facts about the countries featured.

All of the videos can be viewed or downloaded from the ELCA’s Vimeo showcase page at https://vimeo.com/showcase/7224146.

Music

ELCA World Hunger also has original music for “On Earth As in Heaven!” There is a song for each day, and you can find zipped folders for each song on our resource page at https://elca.org/hunger/resources#VBS. Each folder will have a recording with vocals, an instrumental recording and a songsheet with chords.

In the leader’s guide for “On Earth As in Heaven…At Home,” we included a permissions letter that details the rights your congregation has to fair use and sharing of the songs and other materials associated with “On Earth As in Heaven.”

This adaptation of VBS for 2020 is the product of many conversations with leaders across the ELCA who provided their input and suggestions as it came together. All of the materials were developed, too, with the generous support of gifts to ELCA World Hunger, and we are happy to provide them for free because of this. If you use “On Earth As in Heaven…At Home,” please consider inviting participants to continue supporting the work of our church toward a just world where all are fed.

If you have any questions or feedback, please contact Ryan Cumming, program director of hunger education for ELCA World Hunger, at Ryan.Cumming@ELCA.org, or Brooke De Jong, program assistant for hunger education, at Brooke.DeJong@elca.org.

Blessings in your ministry!

For many of our neighbors, the economic consequences of the pandemic has thrust them into the sometimes-confusing world of applications, documentation and eligibility requirements that make up our public assistance programs here in the United States. The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) increased funding and broadened eligibility to many of these programs, but since many of these programs are administered by states, how to apply depends on where you live.

ELCA World Hunger’s newest set of guides, “Community Assistance Resources by State,” is meant to help potential applicants get started in applying for benefits they and their families may need. Each one-page guide has links to information and applications for each of the following programs for all 50 states and Washington, DC:

• unemployment insurance;
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);
• Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC);
• Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP);
• Rental and housing resources from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); and
• child care assistance (for most states).

In addition, each sheet has contact information for the National Suicide Hotline, the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the Farmer Crisis Hotline.

We included some information about changes to programs, where possible, though with many programs in flux, we only included information that we are reasonably certain will still be accurate as we head into Fall 2020.

How to Use the Community Assistance Guides

The guides are on the ELCA World Hunger resources page under the “Hunger Ed” tab. All of the states are grouped together in a zip folder. If using a PC, simply save the folder to your desktop, right-click on the folder once it is downloaded and click “Extract All…” A folder with all of the guides should appear.

The guides are meant to be a starting point for finding applications and information on public programs. These can be shared electronically with members of a congregation, contacts on an email list or with clients of a feeding ministry. They can also be printed and placed in bags with food during distribution days at a food pantry. These can also be posted to social media groups for a community or shared on a website.

As you can see in the Montana guide above, most of the information contains links to websites, while some also have phone numbers. There are a few reasons for this. First, the agencies that administer many of these programs have been overwhelmed with calls. Some potential applicants are finding that hold times are very, very long, if their call is answered at all. Going online is typically the quickest way to apply. Where possible, we included links to paper applications for some assistance programs, for folks with challenges filling out forms online, either due to internet access or ability level. The second reason is that the most up-to-date information on eligibility and process can be found online.

Having direct links to the information can also help potential applicants find what they need much faster. Digging through state government websites can be tricky, and there are several websites that appear to be state-run are not the right sites and may present a risk for security of applicants’ information. The links on ELCA World Hunger’s Community Assistance Resource Guides have been checked by multiple staff for accuracy.

What If Clients Don’t Have Internet Access?

The COVID-19 pandemic is revealing what many folks have known for years: there is a deep digital divide between communities that have access to the internet at home and communities that have insufficient or no access. So, how can neighbors who don’t have internet access use these resources?

There are a couple solutions to this problem. First, some of the guides have links to paper applications that can be printed out and sent to congregation members or placed in a bag of food during distribution at a food pantry. The paper applications usually include the mailing address for the agency, so this is one easy solution.

Second, if your ministry has switched to a drive-through or walk-up model at a church, look into how far your church’s wifi extends on the property. For some churches, guests may be able to access the network from their cars. Consider setting up a waiting section of the parking lot for guests to access the church’s wifi and fill out the application using their own computers. In many cases, the applications are quick to fill out. This does depend on your state, though. For unemployment insurance, some states have set up scheduled days when applicants can apply. Be sure to check these first. Also, be sure to check with the church administrator to make sure the wifi connection is secure and available for clients to use.

Another option during food distribution is to provide computer stations outside for clients to use. This is a bit more difficult. The computers would need to be secure (especially in deleting browser history after each use), socially distant from other computers, guests, or volunteers, and covered in such a way that they can be easily disinfected after each use.

Also, remember that the crisis response resources are phone or text-based. For neighbors facing crises related to mental health or domestic violence, these hotlines can be an important help and do not require a computer.

Accessing the public benefits that are available in your state can be confusing for folks. But with these guides to get started, the process can be much easier and less time-consuming.

Note: Most of the public benefits expanded under the CARES Act are not available to undocumented immigrants. The ELCA’s AMMPARO ministry has shared a spreadsheet of resources on its Facebook page to help non-citizen neighbors find the support they need.

Since 2015, undernourishment around the world has been on the rise, after years of decline. In the latest estimates from the United Nations, more than 820 million people are undernourished. Even as we face the clear and present threat of coronavirus, we need to remain aware of the ongoing, persistent threat of hunger around the world. The current pandemic is revealing and exacerbating long-standing disparities – in income, access to health care, and social mobility. As the disease continues to spread, and as governments take steps to avert it, what might be the consequences for hunger?

Here are some of the things to keep an eye on when it comes to hunger in a pandemic.

Food Prices

What do we know?

One of the reasons we have seen rises in hunger in the last 10-15 years is volatility in food prices. In 2007-2008, for example, prices for wheat, corn and rice reached new highs. Milk and meat also spiked. This increased vulnerability to hunger in many countries. Some countries were harder hit than others. India, for example, saw an increase in wasting (low weight for height) among children. Fourteen African countries also experienced civil unrest over high prices, as did Bangladesh and Haiti. The research suggests that the biggest impacts of the price crisis were felt particularly among low-income groups. Some analysts also argue that the food price crisis may have contributed to the Arab Spring protests that erupted in the early 2010s.

What should we be watching?

One of the main concerns about COVID-19 early on was that both the disease and the government responses to it may cause a spike in food prices. This could be the result of infections preventing people from working in agriculture or in processing, restrictions on trade, and stockpiling[1] of food, all of which can reduce supply. As supply decreases and demand increases, of course, prices rise. If this were to happen in the midst of a pandemic, when many folks are also vulnerable to infections that can keep them from working, we might see a spike in global hunger, especially for those whose income leaves them vulnerable already. At particular risk are farmworkers, particularly field workers, many of whom are at increased risk of infection because of a lack of sufficient protocols for safety. As the agricultural industry is impacted, many of these workers may face reduced pay or reduced opportunities for work, both of which can leave them vulnerable to poverty, hunger and increased infection, especially as they pursue work in unsafe settings or under-regulated industries.

What are we seeing so far?

There’s good news and bad news. We aren’t yet seeing spikes in food prices. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) tracks food prices by month, and the latest data for March 2020 didn’t show significant increases. That’s good news. Also, this year is looking to be strong for harvests of wheat and some other cereals. That’s also good news. The price spikes earlier this century were often accompanied by droughts that caused down years for crops. So far, that isn’t the case in 2020. The biggest concern for now is that restrictions on trade and mobility might create a situation friendly to higher prices.

The bad news is actually in the other direction, with prices falling. In the US, many farmers rely on restaurants and stores to purchase their produce. With the closures of these businesses and direct-to-consumer markets, farmers face a challenging environment for selling their crops. The CARES Act included an allocation of $9.5 billion to help support them through the USDA.

Farmers in other countries face similar challenges. With markets closed or closing and developed economies slowed or retreating, prices for exports and commodities are moving down. This could create long-term problems for people in agriculture. In developing countries, where the share of the labor force dependent on agriculture can reach well above 50%, this is a significant problem. See below for more on exports this year.

Health Care Costs

What do we know?

Medical out-of-pocket costs are a significant driver of poverty in the United States. According to the US Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure, medical out-of-pocket costs were responsible for adding about 8 million people to the number of people living in poverty in 2018. Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank estimated that in 2010, 800 million people spent 10% of their household budget on health care, and about 100 million people were pushed into extreme poverty because of health care costs. For many, the choice to seek medical treatment is a choice between paying for care and paying for other needs, such as food.

The relationship between health and hunger is kind of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, malnutrition can lead to significant health problems, such as hypertension, anemia, coronary heart disease, and diabetes. Based on what we know so far about COVID-19, this leaves people who are hungry at greater risk of severe symptoms from infection. As people get sick, they are more likely to miss out on income and thus less able to afford food and other necessities. When they aren’t getting enough food, they are more likely to get sick. It’s a vicious cycle.

What should we be watching?

Without access to a sufficient, stable healthy diet, people who are already vulnerable to poor health will be at heightened risk from COVID-19. Moreover, in many areas, communities with high rates of poverty and hunger also have limited access to health services, particularly the kinds of specialized services that are needed to treat severe symptoms of COVID-19.

One of the ways to measure access to health care services – and along with that, the ability of a country to mitigate a pandemic – is the number of health care professionals within an area. In developed countries, the number of medical doctors per 10,000 people can be as high as 20-40. The number of medical doctors in developing countries can be lower than one per 10,000 people. Disparities exist within other needed professions, as well, such as pharmaceutical personnel and nursing and midwifery personnel. The combination of undernourishment, low numbers of medical workers and a severe pandemic is a serious problem.

The other concern is that even if they have access, people living on the edge of extreme poverty may not be able to afford health services. It’s difficult to measure the number of people who have health coverage for essential services, but based on their research, WHO and the World Bank estimate that more than half of the world’s 7.3 billion people lack this coverage. That’s a lot of out-of-pocket expenses for many of the people who can least afford it.

For these and other reasons, ELCA Advocacy is working to ensure that the next COVID-19 funding bill in the United States includes additional funding resources in international assistance to ensure effective global responses that will protect all of us here in the United States and around the world.

What are we seeing so far?

Treatment for the kind of severe symptoms COVID-19 causes doesn’t come cheap. A 2005 study of 253 US hospitals (a bit dated, certainly) found that the average cost of mechanical ventilation for patients in intensive care was as high as $1500 per day. Without insurance, affording treatment will be out of reach for many people. According to the US Census Bureau, in 2018, more than 28 million people in the US lacked health insurance. This coverage is not evenly distributed, either. Of the wealthiest households (with incomes above $100,000 per year), less than 5% are uninsured. Of households with the lowest income (less than $25,000), more than 13% are uninsured.

Moreover, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 33 million people in the US do not have paid sick leave from work. As the Pew Research Center notes, while this has improved overall, with many workers gaining this benefit in recent years, lower-income workers are still less likely to have it. These workers are also less likely to have the financial resources to weather a major health crisis.

The long and short of it is, at this point, we don’t have a ton of verifiable data to draw conclusions about the health care impact of COVID-19 on hunger. But we do have enough information to reiterate the importance of the health projects supported by ELCA World Hunger. These projects, including hospitals and clinics, maternal and child health care, psychosocial support for mental health, vaccinations, and more, are effective ways of accompanying communities toward well-being – and building resilience to health crises. As “unprecedented” as the COVID-19 pandemic is, it is worth remembering that safety from contagious, deadly infectious diseases is not evenly shared by all. Outbreaks of Ebola, SARS, and MERS, and the ongoing pandemic of HIV/AIDS have impacted many of us and our neighbors just in the last ten years. Typically, it is the poorest households that are disproportionately impacted.

Loss of Livelihoods

What do we know?

Poverty is responsible, according to the FAO, for about half of the undernourishment around the world. Reducing poverty and achieving sufficient, sustainable livelihoods for people is critical for ending hunger. Tremendous progress has been made on this front in recent years, with poverty declining in much of the world over the last 30 years. In East Asia and the Pacific, for example, poverty has declined from about 60% in 1990 to less than 3% in 2015. Much of this decline is because of economic growth. Sadly, of course, this doesn’t mean that inequality has eased. A rising tide doesn’t necessarily lift all boats, so there is still quite a bit of poverty within countries, even as the rates overall have come down. The growth also hasn’t been even between countries. Sub-Saharan Africa has seen an increase in poverty during the overall global decrease.

What should we be watching?

The effect of sickness on income was already mentioned. But as many folks have said, the attempts to slow the virus will have their own consequences. One of the big ones will be loss of livelihoods, at least temporarily. What we are keeping an eye on here in the US is, of course, the jobs reports and the unemployment rate. Globally, we will be looking at similar things, particularly in industries like tourism, agriculture and manufacturing. In agriculture, especially, much of the work is timebound. It’s difficult to catch up on a season once it passes.

What are we seeing so far?

The numbers in the US aren’t good. The federal government has expanded unemployment coverage, and the number of applicants so far is astounding. According to the most recent (April 9) release of weekly unemployment claims by the US Department of Labor, more than 6.6 million people filed claims in the first week of April continuing the trend from the previous week and bringing the total number of people filing claims to more than 16 million. On a graph, the increase of late looks like a sharp right turn:

In the US, the March 2020 jobs report showed a loss of over 700,000 jobs. The biggest losses were in leisure and hospitality.

Internationally, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has reported some significant price decreases for commodities so far this year. As developed countries emerge from closures related to COVID-19, it will take some time for their economies to come back. At the same time, some developing countries are only at the beginning of the process of managing the pandemic. This could mean a long road back for exports and commodities. To put it simply, with weakened prices for exports and commodities, it may be a while before industries such as agriculture, processing and mining recover.

Social Safety Nets

What do we know?

Social safety net programs are government-funded programs that provide assistance to people during times of need. These can include benefits that allow people to buy food, cash assistance, subsidized medical care, and more. In the US, major safety net programs include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and others. These programs are critical supports in times of crisis.

SNAP is one of the more commonly used social safety nets. It provides people in need with money to purchase food during the month. The average benefit nationwide is about $130 per person per month. SNAP is one of the most effective social safety nets. The US Census Bureau estimates that, in 2018, SNAP helped keep about 3.2 million people out of poverty. During the Great Recession, increases to the program helped stabilize the Supplemental Poverty Measure calculated by the US Census Bureau. This helped keep people out of poverty.

What should we be watching?

Federal legislation in response to the pandemic has authorized increases in funding for some of the social safety net programs, like LIHEAP and WIC. For others, some of the requirements have been waived. For example, the CARES Act has waived the requirement for a woman to by physically present to apply for WIC. This will allow more people to apply while keeping themselves and their families healthy. The expansion of LIHEAP will help families maintain their utilities and use needed money for other necessities.

The big question right now is, will the social safety net do what it is intended do, namely prevent a short-term crisis from becoming a long-term situation of need for individuals and families?

The ELCA is working through ELCA Advocacy to encourage the US Congress to increase the maximum SNAP benefit by 15 percent during the duration of this emergency to ensure households have enough resources to avoid the hard choice of choosing between paying for their bills or for food.

What are we seeing so far?

SNAP was a big piece missing from the legislation. The Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP, received a boost in funding, but this was not for an increase in benefits. Rather, it was to help cover the costs of what is expected to be a rise in eligible participants. So, the allocation will allow more people to participate, but it won’t necessarily provide the increased funding per person that we saw during the Great Recession. Advocating for this in future legislation is important. Again, it was SNAP increases, more than other government transfer programs, that contributed to increased jobs and reduced poverty during the recession, according to the Economic Research Service of the USDA.

Globally, the World Bank found in a 2018 study that less than 20% of people in low-income countries have access to social safety nets of any kind. Without access to public programs during crises, it is likely that COVID-19 will take a significant toll on many communities’ resilience to poverty and hunger. This will likely deepen the divide between higher-income and lower-income people within countries, as some will have the means to weather the pandemic while others may not.

The COVID-19 pandemic points to the importance of addressing hunger at the root causes. It also highlights the many ways that the burdens of crises are often not evenly shared, globally or within an individual country. The pandemic also brings into sharp relief the need for cooperation and coordination between business, nonprofits and government. Food banks and pantries have stepped up to meet immediate needs. Farmers have supported this by donating produce – at a cost to themselves. And the federal government’s legislation related to the pandemic will provide critical support.

This will be a long road, and it will require a lot of effort, particularly in advocacy with the communities most affected. To stay up-to-date on legislation and ways you can help, sign up for ELCA Advocacy action alerts at ELCA.org/advocacy/signup. In worship and in your devotions at home, remember those who are affected now and those who may be affected in the future. And stay healthy. There are many lessons for us in this situation, but one of them is clearly just how much we need one another.

[1] Stockpiling is different from “hoarding.” Stockpiling here means countries or other large entities purchasing large amounts of commodities as a security against scarcity. This isn’t the same as a shopper buying a lot of toilet paper or canned soup.

This post was originally published as an ELCA Advocacy Action Alert. Sign up for ELCA Advocacy e-alerts and stay up-to-date on the latest developments in federal legislation at https://elca.org/advocacy/.

On March 27, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, H.R. 748 (CARES Act), a third economic aid package to help bring direct relief to families, reinforce struggling industries and the healthcare sector, and extend assistance to vital state and federal support programs.

Members of Congress and their staff worked intensely to deliver bipartisan initial response to the crisis, and we thank the many Lutherans who called their lawmakers to advocate for important faith-rooted principles and policies that support those of us at greatest risk in this pandemic. The first bill put $8.3 billion towards healthcare, including funding for global response to the pandemic. The second bill strengthened nutrition assistance programs and unemployment benefits, allowed for free coronavirus testing predicated by kits availability, and also provided extra sick leave for millions of workers.

SOME ELEMENTS OF THE CARES ACT

In the third relief package, Congress passed aid to people experiencing unemployment and economic uncertainty and relief to families and businesses, including several provisions consistent with ELCA Advocacy’s priorities of faithful and timely attention to pressing concerns that affect our neighbor’s well-being and the wholeness of creation.

• Unemployment insurance benefits expanded to people who have exhausted their state unemployment insurance and to people who do not qualify for the traditional state unemployment insurance, such as gig workers, self-employed people and contract workers;
• Housing assistance of $7 billion offered, including targeted funding for those of us experiencing homelessness;
• State, tribal and local government support of $150 billion for urgent needs and $150 billion for healthcare system reinforcement designated;
• Child Care and Development Block Grants made available to states to provide immediate assistance to child care centers;
• Evictions moratorium for 120 days enabled for renters in homes covered by a federally backed mortgage;
• International COVID-19 response increase allotted of $1 billion, including support for repatriation of U.S. government personnel and American citizens, for displaced populations and for global disease detection.

In addition to this overview, refer to the companion ELCA Advocacy blog post for additional information about what’s coming in a fourth package as well as links to connect eligible individuals seeking assistance with sources of aid.

YOUR ADVOCACY MATTERS

The initial draft of the CARES Act proposed that people too poor to pay income taxes would get smaller cash payments than people with higher incomes. Your advocacy made a difference in removing that inequity in the final version – thank you! We will also need your voice in the time ahead to advocate with populations not guaranteed automatic cash stimulus payments, such as recipients of Social Security or Supplemental Security Income. There is more to do.

As Congress will likely adjourn for several weeks, we encourage you and other advocates to watch for possible tele-conference town halls and other forums to connect with your lawmakers while they are in-district. The ELCA Advocacy resource, “August Recess Guide,” contains some tips for in-district opportunities. Express both your thanks for their action and share your specific concerns and community needs as we live aware of our role doing “God’s work. Our hands.” in this uncharted time.

If you are currently working with a hunger ministry, please also see ELCA World Hunger’s blog post “Tips for Responding to Hunger in a Pandemic.”

These reflections are a part of ELCA World Hunger’s Sermon Starter series which is published via email every Monday. You can sign up for the weekly email here on the right side of the page, if on a computer, or near the bottom of the page, if viewing on a mobile device. Pastor Tim Brown is the writer of these reflections. Pr. Tim is a Gifts Officer and Mission Ambassador for the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and a pastor and writer out of Raleigh, NC. You are invited to use the message below for personal devotion as well as prompts for sermon writing. 

April 12- Easter Sunday

Jeremiah 31:1-6

Should you decide not to preach on Matthew’s resurrection account, my suggestion would be to choose the Jeremiah offering (the alternative option) rather than the reading from Acts as the basis for the sermon. And the choice is purely contextual, if I’m honest with you, because fine Easter sermons can be crafted from either text.

But the Jeremiah reading has this wonderful cadence that dances a bit on this day of celebration, and the wonderful theme of “Again” used in the text can be played with to craft a sermon of resurrection hope that might be most impactful in this strange time of wilderness.

“Again, I will build you…” says the Lord. “Again, you shall take your tambourines…” says the Divine.  “Again, you shall plant…” says the Holy Gardener.

“Again” might just be the message your people need. For though it is Easter, it is also “The 5^th Sunday of the Pandemic” for most of us, and perhaps the third or fourth Sunday of “shelter-in-place.”  These realities must be spoken of, too.

In fact, I dare say that every year, Easter speaks to these kinds of realities; we just fail to recognize that fact most years from the comfort of our new dresses and freshly pressed suits with floral print ties.

Your people will gather together, in person, again.  Your people will be able to embrace one another, again. Families separated by quarantine will be able to kiss one another, again.

It will happen again! There will be a time after this pandemic. If there’s one thing Easter makes abundantly clear, again and again, every year, it’s that there is always an “again.”

Neither life, nor pandemic, nor crucifixion nor death can stop that. On this Sunday above all others (but also, all the others!) this is the Gospel message.

A final lovely nugget hidden in this prophetic text is the heavy but heartening truth that the people of Israel didn’t just find grace after they were through the wilderness period, but rather, as Jeremiah says, they found “grace in the wilderness.”

There is grace in the wilderness. And I’m not talking about silver linings or optimism or “glass-half-full” sort of grace, but rather the kind of grace that knocks you off your feet and helps you survive another day sort of graces.

I’m talking about Easter-sized sort of graces.

Reminding people that though shopping is suspended, and socializing in person is suspended, and yes, Easter sunrise service is suspended in these days, grace is not suspended.  God’s grace is never suspended.

Grace is found again and again, even now, even in these days.  Which is worth celebrating and shouting “Alleluia” for this morning.

Again we will hold hands. Again we will join together. Again there is grace to be found, even today.

Again and again and again — and no quarantine, no shelter-in-place, no tomb will ever cause that not to be true.

Matthew 28:1-10

On this Easter, many churches around the world are empty, just like that tomb was empty in ancient Palestine on that “first day of the week.”

In this pandemic, the most honest sign of love that the Christian world can give to the greater world, and to one another (and by extension, to the God seen in the risen Christ), is an empty church building. I’m serious.

There may be a few places in the world where the pandemic has not yet reached levels where churches are empty; places that may be far from you geographically but, through the faith that connects us, not so far at all. If there are, they will gather together in body for the rest of us as we all gather together in spirit on this Sunday.

Perhaps this is a good Sunday, the Feast of the Resurrection as it is formally called, to remember that our church gatherings are both local and universal, every time we gather. Our communion liturgy connects us both with one another, but it also connects us across continents and cultures, and with the distant past and with the future, as we join the “saints of every time and place.” That “every” there really does mean every, Beloved.

This is what our theology tells us.

Notice how Matthew’s resurrection account opens a very poignant and timely door for us today, a door upon which the sermon can hinge. The angels, when greeting the women, tell them the resurrection news and instruct them to go tell the disciples to meet Jesus back in Galilee.

And then, the text says, they go “with fear and great joy.”

We often, I think, assume that great joy and fear are mutually exclusive, but this text reminds us that they need not be. We can be both fearful and joyful, which is probably where a lot of your parishioners are at in these days, right?

Yes, we may be quarantined, and there is some fear around the future, but on this Easter Sunday we are also filled with great joy because we remember the promise that the love of God cannot be stopped by anything, not even death.

Yes, we may have to shelter-in-place, and there is some fear about what that is doing to the economy, but on this Easter Sunday we are also filled with great joy because we remember the promise that God resurrects bodies, and they are paramount, and we are saving people’s lives in these days, just as all of us will one day dance bodily with the risen Christ.

Yes, we may be separated from one another, and there is some fear and anxiety about when we can be back together, but there is also great joy on this Easter Sunday because we remember that every Sunday leading up to this, we’ve been practicing in our souls and hearts for the day when we truly, truly need the Easter story, and by God, it’s today.

On this Easter Sunday, do not take the easy way out and present a rosy picture; Easter isn’t meant for rosy days.

Easter is meant, necessary even, for days of fear and tombs and women gathering in the darkness unsure of what they’ll find.

Easter is meant for today, by God.  Alleluia!

Children’s Message

Online Children’s Messages can’t reliably lean on congregational participation, especially if the kids aren’t old enough to type in a chat box or if you’re incapable of hearing them.  I’m going to continue assuming that you’re recording this for them to experience online.

Have a huge Alleluia banner, or even a sheet of paper with an individual letter spelling out the word Alleluia, on it.

Welcome, everyone!

(name) here, and I’m so glad you’re here on this Easter Sunday! <pretend to look into the camera> Wow!  Look at all those Easter dresses and fancy clothes you all have on.

Well, oh, and someone is still in their pajamas! Which is great! God loves us no matter what we’re wearing.

And, in fact, God loves us no matter where we are! And just because we can’t be together today doesn’t mean that we can’t celebrate Easter, right?

Now, there’s one word we haven’t been saying all of Easter. It starts with an A and…wait, I have something to show you. <pull out the Alleluia banner, or at least the first letter of the word, if they’re on individual sheets of paper> Here it is!

Alleluia!  It’s kind of like yelling “Yeah!” to God.

So, what I want you to do is shout it with me. Everyone. On the count of three.  Ready? 1-2-3 <hold up the banner> Alleluia!

You know what? If we all shouted that at the same time, we’re more connected than ever!

Can you do me a favor? Ask a parent or guardian to video you giving your biggest Alleluia. You can say it loud, sing it or even take a picture with you holding an Alleluia banner that you made. Can you do that? Have them send it to me.

Because on Easter we celebrate that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, and that even though we might be separate from one another this Sunday, we won’t stay that way forever, and that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.

So, send the church those videos or those pictures, and let me see those resurrection smiles! Oh, and don’t worry. You can wear your Easter best or your PJs…God doesn’t care.  Jesus is risen, which means we can celebrate no matter where we are or how we are!

Post the videos, with permission, to your social media sites.

These reflections are a part of ELCA World Hunger’s Sermon Starter series which is published via email every Monday. You can sign up for the weekly email here on the right side of the page, if on a computer, or near the bottom of the page, if viewing on a mobile device. Pastor Tim Brown is the writer of these reflections. Pr. Tim is a Gifts Officer and Mission Ambassador for the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and a pastor and writer out of Raleigh, NC. You are invited to use the message below for personal devotion as well as prompts for sermon writing. 

April 5- Palm Sunday

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Preaching to a camera or a livestream is no easy task, so before we dive into the text, let me say a few things from a preaching perspective.

First, give yourself lots of grace. These are weird times, and no one can plan for this.

Second, do the best you can with what you have. Whether you’re in full vestments in an empty sanctuary, a talking head in your living room, or even just a voice on an audio recording uploaded to a church website, don’t fret too much about what everyone else is doing. You do the best you can.

Finally, as we’re heading headlong into Holy Week, these are rough waters. Holy Week is an embodied week for the church and really is experienced in and through our bodies and other bodies. Figuring out a way to do some of what this week embodies when we’re all finally able to get back together may be important for you, and for your community.

Ok, on to the text we go.

If you decide to preach from Isaiah for Palm Sunday, you will find an abundance of themes that intersect both with the holy day and our current situation.

The prophet begins with, “The Lord God has given me…” which can be a good segue if you’re doing a livestream with audience participation, into a naming of gifts that people can lift up in these days. Invite the congregation to follow Isaiah’s lead and name gifts God has given. They can list them in the chat thread during a livestream or write them down on a piece of paper if following along with a recording.

Isaiah then continues to note that God cajoles the people to wake every morning and to “listen as those who are taught.” How can we be attentive, even in these strange days, to what the Divine is saying to and through us? And, in light of this festival day, how can we be attentive to what Jesus is saying, both in his words and in his actions, as he rides into Jerusalem atop a donkey? What is God in Jesus saying about humility here? What is God in Jesus saying about the journey? How are we, in these days, able to figuratively, and perhaps literally, take off our coat and cut our palm branches and spread them on the ground, making the path easier for others?

One of the points about social distancing is that it makes the road of life safer for the most vulnerable populations in these pandemic days. By pausing our routines, sacrificing school or finances, and fasting from social interaction, we are helping to “flatten the curve” so that the most vulnerable among us may be safer. How does this exemplify serving and honoring Jesus by serving and honoring our neighbors?

Finally, the prophet ends with a reminder that it is the Lord God who helps them and entreats us to remember that, though we may be going without for a little while, we are not going alone.  God continues to walk in the midst of us, to guide us, to help us…and so we are not without help and aid.

As Joseph Sittler notes in Gravity and Grace, the “authority of the Scripture has to depend on the text’s internal congruity with the human pathos” (p. 47).  In other words: it must speak to this time, now.  And I dare say that, although this is Palm Sunday, this is for many people the “Third Sunday after Social Distancing”…and maybe the fourth, depending on where you are located.

Preach accordingly.

Matthew 21:1-11

Here’s the decision on every Palm/Passion Sunday, whether you are physically in the parish or virtual: which Gospel to preach on?

Let me make a recommendation.

If you decide to do the Passion Story, which is wonderful, go ahead and recruit some readers ahead of time, and split it into parts to read.  This works especially well if you’re able to record it in the sanctuary as a group of 4 (keeping an appropriate distance, of course), or could work equally well if you’re doing a video conference, with four different persons taking the roles. You could also record it ahead of time and edit the clips together or consider asking your youth to make a video representation of the story by filming clips from their homes. There are many good ways to split up this long part of Matthew’s Gospel.  Choose a way that makes sense, and go with it, and that should serve as the “sermon” for the Sunday.

If you’re choosing not to go that route and want to preach on the “Entry into Jerusalem” text offered from Matthew 21, there is also plenty to go on for a homily.

One of the considerations here is figuring out how many of your parishioners will be around to view/hear the Good Friday narrative.  If many will tune in, go with the Palm Sunday “Entry into Jerusalem.”  If not, go with the Passion.

The following will assume you chose the Matthew 21 text.

The question, to begin with is: “What is God saying to your people, with this Palm Sunday text, now?”

An entry might be to acknowledge that, without palms and a procession, it doesn’t feel a whole lot like Palm Sunday, right?

Except we have many processions going on at the moment.

Many of our parishioners have just processed to the ballot box, or have been told that their ballot procession will be delayed until this pandemic is in the past.

Many of our parishioners have processed to the grocery store to stock up on staples, and what is a parade when you’re mandated to stay six feet apart?!  It’s no parade at all…

There are many processions to lift up, even in these times, as our communities are in the diaspora.

And that might be a great place to start, by the way, noting that we are in the parade, the march of the faithful, even in the diaspora.

Ancient Judaism made such a claim when Babylon shipped them off to parts near and far. Our Christian heritage is not one that is unaccustomed to having the procession of the faithful in spirit rather than body, and we can note that honestly on this day.

We wave our palm branches in a long procession of the faithful, both present and long departed, believing that the thing that connects us is not proximity, but rather the God who knows no such thing as “social distancing.”

In Jesus, God is extremely close, even acutely close.

And we have the duty, on this Palm Sunday, to walk ahead of the Christ processing into our reality, exclaiming, “Hosanna to the Son of David.”  Because even as we are a part, we are brought together in our praise for the God seen in Jesus.

And take the moment to expand upon this reality, because every Sunday the church gathers not just with those who are within the walls, but also those who are across the continents, in the fields, in the valleys, in those places we never think of on a pedestrian Sunday morning. ELCA World Hunger continually invites us to consider our neighbor far away and unseen, and on this Sunday when even our closest neighbors are far away and unseen, we are once again invited to consider the distant neighbor, reminding us that this, and every Sunday, we are in the long procession of the faithful.

God always connects us.  Always.  Not just when we are practicing conscious social distancing, but also in those times when we don’t even perceive that we are distant from one another. Hosanna, indeed!

Children’s Message

Online children’s messages can’t reliably lean on congregational participation, especially if the kids aren’t old enough to type in a chat box, or if you’re incapable of hearing them.  I’m going to assume that you’re recording this for them to experience online.

Have an ELW nearby to teach a processional song and have a branch or a limb from a tree (it doesn’t need to be a palm tree) to wave. You could even cut one out of construction paper.

Hi everyone!

I know we’re not in person together for this, but you have people in your homes that can help you with what I’m going to ask you to do.

Today is Palm Sunday, and it’s a day for parades. So, what I want you to do is ask your parent, grandparent, or whoever is with you, to cut off a branch or a limb from a bush or a tree to wave around.  And (if you made one from construction paper) you could even create one like this!

Show a sample branch and include simple instructions on how to create it.

Now, today is a day for a parade, like I said, so I want you to walk either in your home, or if you want, up and down you drive-way or even street, waving your branch up and down.  And I want you to sing this song with me!

For this portion, you can choose a song to sing from the ELW that has a short, simple refrain.  The chorus from the traditional Palm Sunday processional “All Glory Laud and Honor” (ELW 344) is easy enough to sing.  You can even sing the verses, and encourage them to join you on the refrain.

Another option could be to make up your own refrain or take one from another Augsburg resource that incorporates “Hosanna! In the Highest!”

And you all: don’t be afraid to get silly! It’s a parade, after all, where we celebrate Jesus and his work in our lives.

If we can’t be near one another, let’s all have a parade at the same time!  Send me videos of your parades, singing this song, and waving your branches!

Post the videos, with permission, to your social media sites.

As communities across the United States and around the world take steps to slow the spread of COVID-19, the routine daily movements of individuals, faith communities, businesses, and more have ground to a halt – or taken new shapes few anticipated. With closed signs hanging outside many restaurants and shelves standing empty inside many stores, it’s no surprise that many people are worried about having enough to get through the current crisis. And yet, in the midst of it, we need to remember that the fear of scarcity or vulnerability did not start with the novel coronavirus; it merely widened in scope. For many of our neighbors, the vulnerability of economic uncertainty and the concern of not having enough food or supplies to last the week or month was and remains a daily reality, exacerbated by the shutdown of daily life and the new significant threats posed by the virus.

The emergency food system – pantries, community meals, soup kitchens and more – is designed to provide for neighbors in need. But it also functions in many ways contrary to the best advice we are receiving about managing the COVID-19 crisis. We are being told not to congregate in large groups; community meals are often designed to bring together a large, diverse crowd for fellowship. We are being told to practice social distancing; many pantries are set up to foster close communication and contact between participants and volunteers. We are being told to stock enough food and household necessities to last 2-4 weeks; many emergency feeding programs rely on neighbors giving freely of their resources.

Hunger is still a challenge, even as our attention is focused on the health crisis at hand, and in many ways, it may get worse. What can we do to ensure that the virus that has brought so much of daily life to a grinding halt does not do the same to our work to end hunger? Below are some tips to support neighbors facing food insecurity during these challenging times. For more suggestions, you can visit the California Association of Food Banks or the Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC), both of which have pages listing suggestions for adapting hunger programs to meet the current reality.

1) Change

If you work at or run a pantry, consider alternatives to your current model. This might mean providing a drive-through service, instead of indoor pick-up. Some food pantries have moved from a client-choice model to preparing bags, so that clients are not moving through the pantry or congregating together in lines or waiting areas. Be sure to have adequate signage and other communications if you make this shift. Also, remember to consider clients who do not have cars. One way to maintain client choice may be to offer 2 or more different types of bags, with different items in them. As a volunteer greets each guest, offer them the option of which bag they would prefer. This allows them the choice, while still maintaining the social distance needed with the new distribution. With stores running low on disinfectant supplies and paper goods, consider adding these to your distribution, if you don’t already.

2) Know

Knowing your neighbors is a key part of participating in any successful feeding ministry. So, too, is knowing as much as possible about COVID-19, including who is most vulnerable, what the symptoms are and where testing might be available. We know that some neighbors will be more vulnerable to COVID-19, depending on age. Consider increasing the distribution amounts for them, so that they don’t have to leave the house as often. If your ministry has clients with other underlying conditions, try reaching out to them to make sure they are healthy. If possible, prepare separate bags for special diets, including for people with conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes.

Also, help clients and volunteers learn more about COVID-19 by sharing information about the virus and about testing options. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have print resources available online at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/communication/factsheets.html. Consider posting these or including them in bags of food for guests. Your local county health department may be able to share with you information about testing sites, including restrictions. Remember, some testing sites, including drive-through testing sites, are only open to people with a physician’s order for testing. You can also visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/index.html to learn more.

The ELCA is also providing information and resources via its website at https://elca.org/publichealth. There, you can find guidelines from the CDC, important links and other useful information.

3) Reduce

Reduce the number of people gathering at the pantry at one time. If possible, consider providing appointment times for clients, to reduce the number of people gathering at the space at a single time. If you already use an appointment system, reduce the number of people allowed at each appointment and consider expanding hours or availability to help diffuse the flow of people. The California Association of Food Banks also suggests cross-training volunteers to do multiple jobs and evaluating how many volunteers or staff are essential to help reduce the number of workers at each shift.

4) Protect

It is not known how long COVID-19 can live on surfaces. As you receive donations, talk with your suppliers about the steps they have taken to reduce the spread of the virus. Be sure anyone working in your facility or handling donations is not sick and is practicing good hygiene – washing hands frequently, avoiding touching their face, and avoiding contact with others to the extent possible. As you stock up on cleaning supplies for clients, be sure that your pantry has enough soap, sanitizer, disinfectant supplies, etc. for frequent cleaning and disinfecting for volunteers and the pantry, too. When packing bags of food for clients, reduce the number of people who are touching food or other donations as much as possible, and ensure that everyone who packs bags, stocks shelves or otherwise works with donations washes their hands. If you use clipboards for intake forms, sanitize them often.

5) Cancel

DMARC has postponed or cancelled all large volunteer events and hunger education and outreach events within their network, and the same stance should be adopted for other feeding programs. Any gatherings of large groups, including for service or education, should be postponed or cancelled. Unfortunately, this includes community meals, whenever possible.

6) Donate (But Ask First!)

Now is a critical time to accompany local feeding programs and ministries. As more folks hoard supplies and food, ensuring that our neighbors have enough is more important than ever. If you are able to support a local pantry or feeding ministry, please do so. But before you drop off a large donation, call them first! Managing donations takes a lot of volunteer time, which many ministries and programs may not have right now. Others may have specific needs, depending on their community. Try to reach out first, before choosing how to provide the best support.

7) Give

These are going to be trying times for anti-hunger work for a very long time. If you have the means, prayerfully consider supporting local hunger ministries by donating online, if the option is available. You can also continue to support the work of domestic and international ministries through ELCA World Hunger by visiting https://community.elca.org/elcaworldhunger. With churches closed and offering plates not being passed, it can be easy to forget how much our local, national and international ministries depend on the regular support received from gifts.

8) Support

Hunger is never just about food. Hunger is often a symptom of deeper vulnerabilities. Some of these economic vulnerabilities are being disclosed in rapid and jarring fashion now. The immediate impact of the widespread shutdown is being felt by service and hospitality industry workers in restaurants, bars, coffeeshops, hotels, etc., especially. Many workers in these industries work for hourly wages without paid sick leave. Servers and others depend primarily on tips, which won’t come when the business is closed. The long-term impact of the pandemic on the service industry and small businesses may be significant. Even as we follow the advice to stay home, consider purchasing a gift card from a local business, like a restaurant, coffeeshop or retail store, to use after the current crisis ends. These businesses provide the jobs that are needed to help people feed themselves and their families in the long-term. Many restaurants are also offering take-out options. If you are healthy and can do carry-out or curbside service, remember to tip the workers well. If possible, try to make the tip for carry-out at the same level as the tip you might leave for a sit-down meal.

9) Advocate

ELCA Advocacy has been actively providing alerts about legislation related to COVID-19. You can read the recent ELCA Advocacy blog here. Right now, legislators are preparing to vote on H.R. 6201 – the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. This major legislation will be a major step in providing support to people in need across the country, both in the immediate and in the long-term. Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to get in touch with your members of Congress. H.R. 6201 takes major steps in ensuring that our neighbors in need will have access to nutritious food during the crisis by:

• Increasing funding for TEFAP, the federal program that allows pantries and food banks to purchase food at low prices;
• Expanding funding for low-income pregnant women and mothers whose jobs are impacted by COVID-19; and
• Providing additional meals for elderly Americans who rely on the Senior Nutrition

In addition, the Act would prevent changes to the SNAP program that are slated to go into effect on April 1. These changes would remove the ability of states to make exceptions to the work requirements of SNAP during economic downturns, like the kind we are seeing now. This would mean that some SNAP recipients who work in businesses currently closed due to COVID-19 would be at risk of losing their benefits. H.R. 6201 as it is currently worded would prevent this from happening.

Stay up-to-date on the latest legislative information related to COVID-19 by following ELCA Advocacy on Facebook and by signing up for ELCA Advocacy e-Alerts here.

10) Witness

The church is and always has been caught in the tension of the already-but-not-yet Reign of God. We know by faith that God, even now, is moving the world toward wholeness and healing that surpasses even our deepest hopes during a pandemic. The church is called to bear witness to that hope to one another and to our neighbors. To be church means to be a sign of the bright future God has in store for all creation. But to be church also means to take seriously the threats to our health and wholeness now. As Lutherans, we affirm that both the complete healing to come and the healing we can experience now are gifts from God. The wisdom of public health officials, the empathy of neighbors sacrificing together to stem the spread of disease, and the tireless efforts of community leaders are gifts from God.

Maintaining social distancing, practicing good hygiene, and even changing the way we worship together may seem like mere practical steps. But they reflect some of our core beliefs as people of faith: that human wisdom is a gift of God to give effective shape to our love for one another; that protecting our most vulnerable neighbors is part of our vocation as the people of God; and that authentic worship can take many forms. Our faith also calls us to accompany our neighbors facing heightened anxiety because of both health- and economic-related uncertainties. To witness to hope means to be part of practical solutions, to show empathy and to respect the dignity of all our neighbors, especially in challenging times. It is to remember that even as we maintain social distance, we do so out of love and concern and not out of fear.

To be the witness God calls the church to be means being both wise and “foolish” at the same time – wise, in that our actions are driven by the best information we have available, and “foolish,” in that we bear witness to hope, even in the midst of crisis. At work in this tension is where we are called to be and who we are called to be, during a pandemic – and long after.

To learn more about the church’s “caring response in times of public health concerns,” visit the ELCA’s website at https://elca.org/publichealth. There are links on that page to resources for your congregation to pray for healing and health during this time.