SAN JUAN, Texas – The Rev. Eugene Cho, president and CEO of Bread for the World, and Sister Norma Pimentel, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, will meet Tuesday, Feb. 3 for a discussion on hunger.
The event is being titled “Hunger in the Valley.”
“It is a conversation that is open to the public on how Christians, people of faith, and concerned citizens can respond to the reality of hunger in the Rio Grande Valley,” said Felipe Salinas, a member of Bread for the World. Salinas will serve as moderator for the event.
The dialogue takes place at 7:00 p.m. on Feb. 3, at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in San Juan.
In an interview with the Rio Grande Guardian, Salinas cited data from Feeding America which showed that nearly one in four people in the Valley are food insecure, which means people may need to resort to buying more affordable but less healthy foods, eating smaller meals, or skipping meals altogether.
Nearly 30 percent of households in the Valley also participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), including over 40 percent of children under age 18, the data showed.
Salinas said addressing the problem of hunger and food insecurity effectively requires strengthening and improving programs such as SNAP, which provides several times more meals than those provided through charitable organizations through food distribution efforts.
Bread for the World is a Christian advocacy organization founded in 1974 that educates and equips people to advocate for policies and programs that can help end hunger in the U.S. and around the world. It works in an intentionally bipartisan manner to urge U.S. decision-makers to do all they can to pursue a world without hunger.
Rev. Cho has never visited the Valley before. He said:
“The Rio Grande Valley is facing a hunger crisis that cannot be solved by charity alone. People of faith are called to speak up for policies that prevent families from experiencing hunger. SNAP and other U.S. hunger assistance programs provide significantly more food assistance than all churches and charities combined and protecting them is one of the most powerful ways we can turn compassion into lasting change.”
Pimentel said it is important for everyone to have a conversation about a reality people in our communities are living. “Ending hunger in our communities here in the United States is not the work of any single organization or sector. It requires all of us,” she said.
“When faith communities, nonprofits, government, and neighbors come together with shared purpose and compassion, we can ensure that no family is left without the dignity of a meal and the hope that comes with it,” Pimentel added.
Prior to the evening’s public event, Rev. Cho will also meet with clergy, faith leaders and non-profit leaders to discuss ways congregations and organizations can become engaged in Bread for the World’s work to advocate for the end of hunger. That meeting will take place at 9:30 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church, located at 104 S. 12th St. in McAllen.
About Bread for the World
Bread for the World is a Christian advocacy organization urging U.S. decision makers to do all they can to pursue a world without hunger. Our mission is to educate and equip people to advocate for policies and programs that can help end hunger in the U.S. and around the world.
About Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley
Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley is the charitable branch of the Diocese of Brownsville. Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley has projects that provide assistance to the poor and most vulnerable populations in our community. It is part of the larger family of Catholic Charities USA and Caritas Internacionalis.
