EDITOR'S NOTE: The views and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not of Ottawa News Network.

Bread for the World (Bread) is an organization begun by Christians in the 1970s to work on an end to hunger both here in the United States and across the world. For the past 50 years, Bread has worked in a bipartisan manner with Republicans, Democrats and Independents to advocate for policies and programs that can help end hunger.

On Feb. 4 this year, Bread launched this year’s Offering of Letters (letter-writing campaign): Nourish Our Future in the midst of the chaos that has been ensuing in Washington. Despite this, three Republicans and four Democrats made time to speak at the launch of Nourish Our Future and pledged their support for ending hunger. These members of Congress understand that the United States is stronger and far safer when people across the world are healthy and fed. It is also the right moral and ethical thing to help vulnerable people.

The Nourish Our Future Offering of Letters asks your representative and senators to protect and strengthen nutrition programs that help children reach their full potential. Specifically, it asks to:

• Fully fund the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and strengthen the program so that more eligible families are able to enroll and stay enrolled.

• Provide robust funding for global nutrition programs, so that we can reach millions of children with lifesaving assistance.

WIC serves almost 40 percent of all infants born in the United States. Participation in WIC is associated with reduced risk of premature birth, low birthweight, and infant mortality.

Globally, almost half of all deaths of children under 5 are attributable to malnutrition.

Please make a difference by sending a letter to your representative and senators by using this link or bread.org/advocate and click the blue “Act Now” button or send a written letter to their Washington office.

The majority of the programs that provide access to medical and food assistance globally were part of USAID. This agency has been dismantled by the Trump administration touting misinformation and disinformation. The funding for USAID was less than 1% of the federal budget. The Food for Peace and the Nutrition and Global Health Program were two of the casualties impacting millions of the world’s most vulnerable people.

How to submit an opinion

Ottawa News Network accepts columns and letters to the editor from everyone. Letters should be about 300 words and columns should not exceed 1,000 words. ONN reserves the right to fact-check submissions as well as edit for length, clarity and grammar. Please send submissions to newsroom@ottawanewsnetwork.org.

For example, 1 million people in Ethiopia lost access to critical food supplies, 115,000 people in South Sudan lost access to health and nutrition programs, and 600,000 people in Bangladesh lost maternal health care. Even more appalling, millions of dollars worth of commodities ready to be delivered were allowed to spoil in warehouses.

Although WIC received an increase in the FY2025 extension, it is far from safe from FY2026 cuts. Please make a difference by sending a letter to your representative and senators by using this link or bread.org/advocate and click the blue “Act Now” button or send a written letter to their Washington office.

— Beverley Rannow is a resident of Holland.