Newsline: Elizabethtown College students go hungry for Food Stamp Challenge

[CoBNews <CoBNews@brethren.org>]

Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service, News Director Cheryl
Brumbaugh-Cayford, 800-323-8039 ext. 260, cobnews@brethren.org

Elizabethtown College students go hungry for Food Stamp Challenge

(Nov. 17, 2011) Elgin, IL -- Students at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College are 
participating in a local version of a national program--Fighting Poverty with 
Faith Food Stamp Challenge--to create awareness and advocate on behalf of 
people who receive food stamps. 

Under the program offered by the Chaplain's Office of the college, students can 
choose from one of three scenarios: eat one meal that costs essentially $1.50 
or the amount in food stamps that a recipient would have to spend for one meal; 
exist on $4.50 worth of food stamps for an entire day's meals; or live on 
$31.50 worth of food stamps or the equivalent of a week's meals.

Students are invited to advocate for the hungry by writing letters to 
government representatives to continue or increase aid for Food Stamp 
Assistance. They also may write a letter to the editor of their local paper to 
help create awareness of the funding issue for the food stamp program. Many 
students have answered the question "What is it about my faith that causes me 
to advocate or act on behalf of the hungry?" on video, which can be viewed at 
www.etown.edu/offices/chaplain/food-stamps-challenge.aspx.

"By stepping into the shoes of someone who lives on food stamps, students 
experience the difficult decisions many families make every day," said Amy 
Shorner-Johnson, assistant chaplain at Elizabethtown College. "My hope for the 
Food Stamp Challenge is students go beyond simply being grateful for what they 
have, toward action and advocacy on behalf of the hungry."

As reported in the "Huffington Post" on Oct. 31, a number of congressional 
Democrats are participating in the Food Stamp Challenge to oppose Republican 
proposed cuts to the program. The number of people relying on food stamps has 
risen in response to the ongoing recession. According to the Post report, more 
than 40 million individuals and 19 million households used food stamps in 2010, 
as cited by the US Department of Agriculture.

(This release was provided by Elizabeth Harvey, marketing and communications 
manager for Elizabethtown College (www.etown.edu). The Food Stamp Challenge was 
promoted as an outreach to the Brethren-related colleges by Jordan Blevins, 
advocacy officer and ecumenical peace coordinator for the Church of the 
Brethren and the National Council of Churches.)

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to continuing 
the work of
Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its faith in community. The 
denomination is based
in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith traditions and is one of the three Historic 
Peace Churches. It
celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2008. It counts some 123,000 members across 
the United
States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Nigeria, 
Brazil, the Dominican
Republic, Haiti, and India.

># # #

>For more information contact:

>Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
>Director of News Services
>Church of the Brethren
>1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120
>800-323-8039 ext. 260
>cobnews@brethren.org