Dear FRB Friends,
We (FRB Volunteers, Board and Staff) are re-newing our efforts in Washington DC to talk about the importance of smallholder agriculture development and the criticality of it for worldwide poverty and hunger reduction. Of the 850M hungry people in the world, more than 75% live in rural areas where agriculture development is the only option besides moving to the cities. As we prepare for our future visits to Washington DC, I thought you would appreciate the update below written by Pastor Joan Fumetti - FRB Staff.
If you would like to join us in Washington DC in 2008, we would welocme your presence and witness. Please contact us: www.foodsresourcebank.org
Sincerely, Marv marv@foodsresourcebank.org
From JOAN
Dear Growing Project Friends,
I want to update you on where we stand with USAID because most of you are, or will soon be, reporting on your results for this year and need accurate information to pass on. It appears that we will not be receiving any financial support from USAID in 2007. We continue to work with them and they continue to strongly support our model, so If something changes you can be sure I will let you know and you can pass that on as a nice surprise.
That may be enough information for some of you. For those who want some background on our history with USAID, read on...
The very structure of USAID has changed since we first received a grant through them in 2002. Over the years we have received funds through The Global Development Alliance (charged with working through public-private partnerships—FRB was a natural!) and the Africa Bureau (some of you will remember years when USAID dollars could go to Africa but not elsewhere).
Since then USAID has come under more control from the State Department, with most funds allocated on a country by country basis. Last year FRB members and partners supported programs in 30 different countries-- we would have had to have written 30 different grants, which would create a tremendous burden for our staff. In addition, our average program size of approximately $50,000 although effective, is much smaller than even the smallest programs supported by USAID’s individual country mission offices.
FRB had made a lasting impression with the folks at USAID and they wanted to help us find a new source of support. Farmer to Farmer (F2F) seemed like a good potential fit. This is a program administered by USAID that allows agricultural experts and farmers from the US to travel overseas to share technical knowledge and skills. That is not what we do, but the spirit involved in farmers here growing crops so that people can farm around the global seemed to fit the human dimension of this program. However the language of F2F was not broad enough so, working with one of our great advocates on Capitol Hill from Iowa Senator Tom Harkin’s office, language was drafted for inclusion in the Farm Bill which is now making its way through Congress.
No one anticipated that this change would be a problem for anyone, especially since additional dollars were added to preserve support for those organizations currently involved in F2F. But those organizations did object, strongly. Many of you wrote letters in response, and for a while that was enough to preserve our request. But in the end, we were moved to a pilot program in the Food for Peace Program. Since we don’t distribute food, this is not a good fit for us. What happens with these long term possibilities of USAID funding remains to be seen.
What is clear though is the impact that FRB has had at USAID and on Capitol Hill. Just as we all responded with a resounding ‘Yes!’ to the kind of programming our members do with FRB dollars, so has Washington. But there is something else as well...your witness has attracted the attention, respect and support of a wide ranging group of Senators and Representatives and their staffs. Our President Marv Baldwin has continued the work started by Norm Braksick of telling the story of your commitment and dedication in taking a stand against world hunger. That witness needs to be present in the halls of government.
I was in Washington DC a year ago with Marv and Julie Matovu, an FRB guest from Uganda. We made a presentation on Capitol Hill, largely to young staffers from various offices, and I was taken aback by the warmth of the reception they gave us. One woman came up afterwards asking for material to send to her grandfather who farms back home in South Dakota. In thanking us for coming she said, “We spend a lot of time in meetings like this hearing people ask for things for themselves and their own interests. It feels so good to have people come so far and ask on behalf of others.”
Back in Washington in June for the Bread for the World gathering, we included an FRB presentation at USAID by people from growing projects in Wisconsin, Maryland and Iowa. As they spoke I watched a distinguished-looking gentleman from the State Department taking notes and asking questions, and I thought, “Whatever happens with future USAID funding, this story needs to be told in these rooms.” The witness of FRB volunteers coming, some from significant distances, fueled by a passion for this work and the vision we share, made an impression. You do not just take up a collection and send it off to a good cause. You work hard for the money you raise, getting inputs donated, raising and harvesting a crop, planning celebrations, spreading the word, forming a community both here and abroad. Our visitors from overseas are always touched by the depth of the compassion they see in this level of commitment to making hunger unacceptable in our world. The response I have seen in Washington is the same. I have seen people hungry for stories of the kind of goodness and generosity you are living out in your growing projects.
We all hope that funding will come through from our government because we know that more dollars raised means more lives changed. But whether it does or not, I am certain that the influence of your faithful witness is being used by God in powerful ways. If you have additional questions we would welcome them.
Thank you for your partnership in living the Gospel into our world,
Joan
