Newsline: Drought response initiatives announced by Church of the Brethren

[CoBNews <CoBNews@brethren.org>]

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

Brethren drought response will aid farm families, encourage garden projects.

(Oct. 4, 2012) Elgin, IL --A new Brethren effort has been put together by 
Church of the Brethren staff and districts to respond to needs of farmers and 
communities following a summer of extreme drought. The drought has affected a 
majority of states in the central US.

The cooperative project teams the energies and resources of several 
denominational programs with Church of the Brethren districts. Involved are 
Brethren Disaster Ministries, the Advocacy and Peace Witness Ministries, and 
the Global Food Crisis Fund, along with district executive ministers and 
district disaster response coordinators from the areas most affected by drought.

The Brethren drought response will be carried out in two parts, reports Roy 
Winter of Brethren Disaster Ministries:

-- A Farm Relief Initiative will support congregations and districts in 
providing relief and direct support to the most at-risk farmers in their 
communities. A grant of $30,000 from the Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) has been 
given to start up the Farm Relief Initiative.

-- A Community Food Security and Nutrition Initiative supported by 
congregationally based community gardens and other similar efforts will 
concretely address food insecurity, environmental degradation, and poverty. A 
grant of $30,000 from the Global Food Crisis Fund has been given to start up 
this part of the effort.

On the national level, Brethren Disaster Ministries also is connecting with the 
National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) drought response. 
Brethren Disaster Ministries associate director Zach Wolgemuth is one of those 
serving on an NVOAD task force to bring attention to the drought and help 
coordinate response among cooperating organizations and members of Church World 
Service. For more about the NVOAD response go to 
http://nvoad.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=143:national-voad-declares-2012-drought-a-national-disaster-calls-for-coordinated-action-&catid=37:main-page-stories
 .

>Worst drought in decades

"The United States continues to experience the worst drought in decades," 
explains the grant request from Brethren Disaster Ministries. "During the hot 
dry summer, the US Department of Agriculture declared natural disaster areas in 
1,584 counties in 32 drought-stricken states.... The declaration--which covers 
roughly half of the country--is the most widespread natural disaster in 
America. The past 12 months have been the warmest the United States has 
experienced since the dawn of record-keeping in 1895, according to the National 
Climatic Data Center."

Church staff fear that results for rural America will be devastating, including 
loss of livelihood for many families and businesses that are based on 
agriculture or other food production, food processing, farming, and ranching.

For the rest of the country, the drought and resulting crop shortages are 
expected to raise food prices sharply over the next year. Many of those with 
marginal incomes may join the millions of Americans already struggling to put 
food on the table. The drought likely will increase in the number of children 
who go hungry--which at present represents one in four children across the 
nation, according to the grant request.

Recent rains in the Midwest have brought some short-term relief and may have 
salvaged grazing resources, but are too little too late to help this year's 
crops, particularly corn and soybeans.

>Farm Relief Initiative

This initiative will provide relief and support to smaller scale farmers 
(including livestock, orchard, truck farmers, etc.) who have lost significant 
farm revenue because of the drought, and are experiencing serious financial 
hardship to the farming family. Small grants will be given through Church of 
the Brethren congregations to support farmers left at risk by the drought.

A second goal is to encourage congregations to find creative ways to support 
and minister to people left in the margins in their communities.

The initiative will be administered by Brethren Disaster Ministries. Grant 
proposals must come from a congregation, not an individual. Proposals must be 
approved by the district office and Brethren Disaster Ministries before a grant 
is made.

Initial grants of up to $3,000 per farm will be awarded and a second grant of 
up to $2,000 may be considered as funding is available. Grants may support a 
broad range of needs for a farm family including seed, feed, family needs such 
as utilities and food, education for farmers, and repair of drought-damaged 
land. Grants will focus on farms that have suffered severe drought, and farming 
families who have little insurance benefits and significant loss to their 
livelihood.

Look for more information about the Farm Relief Initiative to arrive at church 
offices in an upcoming mailing. Information packets and proposal forms will be 
provided to congregations and will be made available online at 
www.brethren.org/us-drought . In the meantime, congregations may contact their 
districts for more information, or request information from Brethren Disaster 
Ministries at 800-451-4407

>'Going to the Garden'

"Going to the Garden: A Community Food Security and Nutrition Initiative" is 
led by the Advocacy and Peace Witness Ministries based in Washington, D.C. It 
will facilitate, educate, and empower the formation of congregationally based 
community gardens and other similar efforts to concretely address food 
insecurity, environmental degradation, and poverty.

"These projects will act as a point of education regarding local, regional, 
national, and international food systems and policies as well as an opportunity 
for theological reflection and strengthening congregations," said an 
announcement from the Advocacy and Peace Witness office. "As congregations we 
come together regularly to worship and for fellowship. With these same 
communities many of us seek to reach out to our neighbors with the love of 
Jesus. Through the Going to the Garden initiative, Advocacy and Peace Witness 
Ministries hopes to build on this desire to reach out to our communities 
through working for healthy and sustainable food, strengthening communities 
through mutual service, and caring for God's creation."

The Global Food Crisis Fund grant of $30,000 provides initial financial 
backing. The Advocacy and Peace Witness Office will be the primary implementer 
and direct contact for participating congregations. Part-time consultants may 
be recruited to help provide technical support for garden projects.

Congregations may be asked to provide matching funds to receive a grant for a 
garden project. Matching funds will be encouraged, but not necessarily 
required. It is anticipated this may result in up to 30 congregations receiving 
grants of $1,000.

"Through a recent survey conducted by GFCF summer intern, Jamie Frye, we have 
learned that at least 20 Church of the Brethren congregations have community 
gardens at present," reported GFCF manager Jeff Boshart. "This model, as 
opposed to a Food Bank matching funds initiative of the past decade, seeks to 
encourage a more personal, relational touch. It also recognizes that hunger is 
often a symptom of poverty and not a cause.

"Through personal relationships with individuals and families involved with 
community gardens," he added, "congregations have the opportunity to learn 
about and engage some of the root causes of poverty in their own local 
communities."

>Going to the Garden is expected to:

-- Work alongside congregations to create or expand community gardens, 
assisting congregations with support and initial organization, empowering 
church members to be engaged.

-- Develop a handbook out of the process of working collaboratively with 
churches and communities, in order to assist similar processes in other 
locations.

-- Create local projects with the following components: a model for food 
security, affordable produce, rainwater collection, composting, a theology of 
church and community engagement, nutrition education, and education about 
environmental stewardship, land renewal, and food policy.

"We are eager to hear feedback on areas that can be included in this 
initiative," wrote Nathan Hosler of the Advocacy and Peace Witness office. "We 
envision a program that is flexible and able to address the particular issues 
that each community and congregation wishes to engage. With this in mind we 
look forward to hearing about the ways we can work with congregations to 
develop local projects."

Interested congregations should contact the Advocacy and Peace Witness office, 
which also welcomes suggestions of people who have skills to support this work, 
and suggestions of helpful resources. Contact Nathan Hosler at 
nhosler@brethren.org or 202-481-6943, or by mail at 110 Maryland Ave. NE, Suite 
108, Washington, DC 20002.

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