Baptists, other groups seek to ease burden of high food prices

In the face of soaring food prices, "daily bread" may cost a lot more on this trip to the grocery store than it did six months ago.

In the United States, it sometimes costs those dependent on food stamps more than they have to spend.

In poorer parts of the world, food sometimes costs 50 percent to 75 percent of a family’s income, according to Bread for the World (BFW), a Christian movement that lobbies the nation’s decision makers on behalf of the world’s hungry.

And in Egypt, it may cost your life. At least two people were killed there in clashes over bread in March, according to The Associated Press (AP).

Freak weather, higher oil prices and lower food reserves are among the factors that created the "perfect storm" for a global food crisis, the AP said.

But although people worldwide from farmers to politicians are working to right the situation, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization projects that consumers still have at least a decade of high food prices. As of December 2007, 37 nations were dealing with food crises and 20 of them had imposed food-price controls, the AP said.

Because of this, Baptists are seeking to ease the burden of hunger caused by food crises. Southern Baptists are working all over the world to help support people affected by hunger issues, said Megan Riel, associate director of Baptist Global Response (BGR), a Southern Baptist development and relief organization.

In Zimbabwe, for instance, where the inflation rate is 100,000 percent, BGR has impacted up to 8,000 people with the delivery of 1,000 boxes of food staples provided by the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund. The fund may be supporting 150 to 175 hunger-related projects running overseas on any given day, Riel said.

And in the United States, BFW is urging congressional leaders and President Bush to "dramatically reform and finalize" the roughly $280 billion farm bill so it can continue to help Americans pressured by food prices. The bill was set to expire April 18, but the House and Senate passed a week’s extension to April 25. At press time, however, the president had indicated he might not sign the extension. (TAB)