What is Fighting Poverty with Faith?

Fighting Poverty with Faith is building a nationwide, interfaith movement to cut domestic poverty in half by 2020. The annual Fighting Poverty with Faith mobilization focuses on addressing a root cause of poverty; this year, the theme is “Building Opportunity through Affordable Housing for All” and will run from November 8-November 18, 2012.  Fighting Poverty with Faith is co-sponsored by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Catholic Charities, and the National Council of Churches, and the mobilization is endorsed by over 50 national faith-based organizations.

Fighting Poverty with Faith encourages local communities to plan community-wide, preferably interfaith, events and actions during the week-long mobilization – such as a Habitat for Humanity build, Poverty Simulation, or screening of the 60 minutes special Hard Times Generation – to both educate the community and elected officials about the issue homelessness and the lack of affordable housing options.

Each year, FPWF has an advocacy push; in 2012 we are working to increase and preserve the supply of rental housing for extremely low income households.

Check out the website for more information about FPWF advocacy and the SNAP program: http://fightingpovertywithfaith.com/f2/educational-resources/. Please continue checking this page for advocacy resources – including a Myths vs. Facts sheet, Action Alerts, and sample op-eds – as we get closer to the mobilization.

Brief program descriptions:

The Food Stamp Challenge is a challenge to live for 1 week on the average SNAP (food stamp) allotment of $31.50 (this is approx. $4.50 per day and $1.50 per meal). The Fighting Poverty with Faith Food Stamp Challenge week will run from Thursday, Oct 27 – Thursday, Nov 3. You will be joining with elected officials and community members across the nation who are taking the Food Stamp Challenge in order to better understand how the program works on a personal level and to highlight the continued need for and importance of feeding programs to alleviate hunger in the United States.

  • Register online.
  • Fighting Poverty with Faith encourages you to participate, even if you can only take the Challenge for a few days, or need to take the Challenge during a different week.
  • Share your Food Stamp Challenge with your community by writing an op-ed, blog post, and using social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc).
  • We also encourage you to plan a community-wide event to highlight the Food Stamp Challenge, and register your event on the website, http://fightingpovertywithfaith.com/f2/discussion-forum/.
  • You can access the FPWF Food Stamp Challenge toolkit online at www.fightingpovertywithfaith.com/f2/actiontoolkits.

The Fighting Poverty with Faith Oxfam Hunger Banquet is an experiential program designed to teach organizers and participants how hunger impacts people in the United States. Guests draw tickets at random that assign them to a high-, middle-, or low-income group. Each income level receives a corresponding meal: The high-income group receives a complete meal such as chicken, mashed potatoes, salad, and sparkling cider; The middle-income group receives a simple meal of a pasta and sauce; The low-income group receives only small portions of white bread and water.

Food Stamped is an informative and humorous documentary film following a couple as they attempt to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet on a food stamp budget. Through their adventures they consult with members of U.S. Congress, food justice organizations, nutrition experts, and people living on food stamps to take a deep look at America’s broken food system.

  • Watch the trailer: http://fightingpovertywithfaith.com/f2/home/foodstamped/
  • Fighting Poverty with Faith is partnering with the Food Stamped filmmakers to provide REDUCED PRICE copies of the film for just $150 (plus shipping)!
  • Here’s how it works:
  • Decide you want to host a screening of Food Stamped for your Fighting Poverty with Faith event (Oct 27-Nov 6, 2011)
  • Register your event on the Fighting Poverty with Faith website, http://fightingpovertywithfaith.com/f2/upload-new-events/
  • Following registration, you will receive a “promo code” and detailed instructions for purchasing Food Stamped at the reduced price of $150 (plus shipping)
  • Follow the instructions and purchase the film. You will have the option to pay via check or PayPal.Enjoy the film and take action to fight hunger in the United States!

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