Food prices reached record highs this year -- and the number of people going to bed hungry each night is growing. Today, a child will die from hunger-related causes every 9 seconds.
Right now, Congress is considering cutting funding for programs that combat global hunger -- programs that make up less than one-tenth of 1% of the federal budget, but feed millions of people worldwide, including 12 million people in the Horn of Africa who need food aid. If we don't act now, even more people could go hungry.
Help us send food to those who need it most -- take action today.
Subject line: Don't cut programs that fight global hunger
Dear Lawmaker,
As a constituent and a Mercy Corps supporter, I'm writing today to urge you to protect programs that fight global hunger in the Fiscal Year 2012 budget.
Food prices reached record highs this year. And it's children who are suffering the most. Every day, more than 9,500 children die from hunger-related causes. That's one child every nine seconds.
And right now, the United Nations says 12 million people need food aid in the drought-ravaged Horn of Africa.
This is not the moment to cut the lifeline these children and their families depend on. Yet some members of Congress have proposed cuts that would slash foreign aid programs by 15% -- eliminating programs that help 18 million small farmers grow the food they need to feed their families, give 7 million children access to nutritional supplements during their most critical years, and help people in the world's most dangerous places lift themselves out of poverty forever.
And these cuts would have dangerous security implications in countries such as Haiti, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Sudan where rising food prices mean increasing unrest.
These cuts are irresponsible and unnecessary. Funding for programs that combat global hunger makes up less than a tenth of a percent of the federal budget -- too little to help balance the budget, but enough to feed millions of people. With this many lives at stake, I ask that you look elsewhere for cuts and protect the world's most vulnerable children.
Thank you for your time and attention.
