HungerFast, as it became known, was to raise awareness of the plight of
the poor. This year, with the threat of 40%
budget cuts to foreign aid, over 40,000
people joined in the HungerFast, including over 30 members of the U.S.
Congress. 

Food for the Hungry U.S. president Dave Evans says, "When the
HungerFast came to a close, we were celebrating the fact that God
really did move on behalf of the poorest and saved this resource that's so
critical to help them."

Specifically, God answered prayer. "God really did a
miracle. When we actually saw the budget, the final cuts to foreign aid that affect
the poorest were very tiny and will have no material effect on those
programs for the remainder of this fiscal year, which has another four and a
half months to go."

Even better, there was even a $20M increase
in funding to assist disaster victims through the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. The victory was thrilling, but also
short-lived. Evans says, "In Fiscal Year 12, starting in October, (right
now the process is going through Congress), there is talk about some of these same cuts that were
removed from this current budget being put back in."

So, it's back to the trenches. Food For the Hungry teams are trying to make sure that the
resources they have don't get whittled away. Evans says they're also trying to be part of the solution. "We are very supportive
of a balanced budget; at the same time, we
believe that there are savings that can be made in a whole bunch of areas so
that foreign assistance doesn't have to bear the brunt."

Food for the Hungry has large programs in 20 countries
around the world. They partner with the
local church in order to increase the ministry of the local body of Christ in a
culturally-sensitive context.  As a result, God opens more doors. "We see
change in both areas, so we believe that bringing the holistic Gospel is
critical to meeting people's physical and spiritual needs together and seeing that
hope of a new day in Christ becomes a reality in our program."

Evans urges vigilance as the negotiations over FY12 take
place. "Pray for wisdom on behalf of those in Congress. Pray that they wouldn't forget the poor as they
go through this process, that it wouldn't just be numbers."

There's more about FH here.

The FY11 bill was hammered out on Friday to avoid a
government shutdown, and the details of the $38 billion in cuts are still being
spelled out. The goal is to bring it to
a vote on the House and the Senate on Thursday. At the same time, the House Budget Committee
Chair Paul Ryan presents the FY2012 budget to the Full House and the
President.

The cuts are deep, even gutting. Already, there's an acknowlegement that the
$38 billion in cuts for 2011 won't be enough for 2012. 

That makes foreign aid an easy target. Lucas Koach with Food For the Hungry says, "When asked how much of the federal
government's budget goes to foreign aid, most Americans think it's over 20%. When asked what they think is appropriate,
the common answer is about 10%. The actual amount that goes directly to
international food aid and development is one half of one percent."

In other words, even if all food aid
got cut, it would not make a dent in the federal deficit.

In FY11, $8 billion in cuts are
coming to the State and Foreign Operations budget which includes all the the State Department's functions–a move that is both disappointing
and alarming.   

In practicality, the loss of the funds is a life or death issue for
70,000 kids around the world. "As we target the poorest of the poor around the
world, who are often weeks, if not days, from real starvation, these funds can
translate to death."

In our March 7 story, we broke down the proposed cuts this way:

41% – U.S. food aid programs

67% – Office of Foreign Disaster
Assistance

30% – Development assistance

15% – Global health and childhood
survival programs,

All of these were from FY10-enacted levels, according to budget analyses.

The dollar values may have
changed, but the percentage of cuts were roughly consistent with the earlier
reports.   

The cuts will also impact U.S. foreign
policy and national security. Hunger breeds political instability and chaos
around the globe. Koach explains that "one
of the best proven tools is food aid, food security, and serving the poorest
of the poor as we help our government win friends and allies around the country; it allows mission groups like ourselves to care for the least of these in
our midst."

FH is trying to close the gap between perception and reality
when it comes to the funding cuts. More voices are joining that chorus. 36,000, including congressional members, recently answered a call by religious leaders
to participate in a hunger fast protesting the cuts. They were calling for a "Moral Budget"
because, Koach says, "There isn't an army of lobbyists on behalf of the poor. There
isn't a lot of political pragmatic interest protecting this sector. That's why
it's an increasing imperative to continue to implore their members of congress to
balance the budget, but not to do so on the backs of the poor."

It wasn't only a protest: it was a way of sharing the burden, on a much
smaller scale. "We know that this isn't an easy road. Fundamentally, we are
called to suffer with and on behalf of the poor. We have to trust that God is
larger than these concerns. Hopefully, the suffering will only serve to further
awaken God's people."

How the cuts will impact FH's programs is yet to be seen. However, Koach notes that the budget issue
may be just the klaxon needed to wake believers. Real change happens when God's people
respond with the hope of Christ. "It's
not just going to be a matter of passing a few pieces of legislation, but it's
really going to be God's people moving with an increased compassion to reach
out for the poor."

Keep praying for the ministry leaders who are trying to find ways to
move outreach forward in uncertain financial times. Ask God to continue to resource them, as well
as give them wisdom.

Food for the Hungry U.S.
president and global executive, David Evans, calls the cuts "disproportionate." "They
proposed an average of 8% cuts in discretionary funding across all
areas, but the cuts in international relief and development assistance range
from 41% to 67%."  

In response, FH joined a
coalition of 30 religious and faith-based leaders and signed a letter to U.S.
Senate members urging them to reverse the reductions to international
assistance passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. "All Non-Governmental Organizations that are benefitting
from foreign assistance from the U.S. government will be affected in one way
or another, so there's really no area that's been spared the knife."  

Evans thinks that the deepest
cuts targeted international assistance because it's an "easy target." The
coalition has to counter the prevailing school of thought: "If we have a budget deficit, why are we
giving this money to other countries?"

In fact, a recent Pew Research Center
survey asked Americans how much of the government's budget they thought went to
foreign assistance. The average response was 25%. When they were asked how much they felt
should go to foreign assistance, they said no more than 10%.    

Evans says, "There's this huge
difference between reality and perception. Our message is: ‘If Americans feel like it should be 10%, then that's great. We'd take 10%. Given that it's only one half of one percent,
this is not the area to be making cuts. Even if foreign aid were completely
abolished, it would not make any recognizable dent in the current budget deficit."

Cuts proposed in the House of
Representatives budget resolution include slashing U.S. food aid programs by
41% ($687 million), Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance funding by 67% ($875 million), development assistance by 30% ($747 million),
global health and childhood survival programs by 15% ($365 million), all
from FY 2010 enacted levels, according to budget analyses.

The Senate passed a two-week
extension of the budget that would fund the government until March 18, all the
while countering with proposed $4 billion in federal spending cuts, somewhat
less drastic than the steeper cuts endorsed by the House. "Our desire now–in the U.S. Senate, where the debate is happening–is that some of these cuts
would be restored, particularly in areas where it helps the poorest of the poor
and the most vulnerable."

There's still time for you to get
involved. Evans says, "Talk to your
senators. Talk to your representatives about the good that some foreign
assistance does for the world's poor."

The budget measure would deny
roughly 18 million poor and vulnerable people life-saving physical and spiritual
help. "U.S. government funding allows
us to be in a number of countries that we might not be in if we didn't have
that resource, sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ and working with local
churches, helping to build those churches and build their capacity. All of that
would be curtailed–if not shut down completely–in those areas where we're
highly dependent on this resource to be there."