Senator Leahy Responds to Our Questions on Food Aid Reform

While in D.C., I talked to representatives from both Representative Peter Welch's office and Senator Bernie Sanders' office about the importance of supporting the President's Proposal to Reform Food Aid. Both Welch's aide and Sanders' aide said they were fully onboard with feeding more hungry people on the same budget. Unfortunately, we could not get an appointment with anybody in Senator Patrick Leahy's office, but we were able to drop off some information about the Food Aid reforms that we believe are critical to helping to feed 17 million more people than we already do with less waste for the same cost.

We were sad not to hear from Leahy after our visit, but with several follow-up calls from well-spoken volunteers, we did finally receive a reply from Leahy's office. The good news is that he also wants to see improved efficiency in the way that the U.S. delivers foreign aid. We just want to make sure that we are included in the list of "public and private sector partners" that he mentions. We also want to promote the "sweeping changes" that we know will help produce 53% less waste and ultimately save lives and grow positive attitudes towards the U.S. abroad.

We're excited to have our congressional representation here in Vermont reflect our own beliefs, and we look forward to communicating with them further as there are more developments in the fight to end food inequality and help stem global poverty.

Here's what Leahy's office wrote:

Dear Ms. Lovegrove:  

Thank you for contacting me about improving the efficiency and quality of international food aid. 

On May 7, 2013, I held an oversight hearing in my role as Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Department of State and Foreign Operations on the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) Fiscal Year 2014 budget request. USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah testified and answered questions regarding the economic and humanitarian impacts of food aid reform both at home and abroad and specifically addressed monetization. Administrator Shah stated that shifting away from monetization and toward local capacity building will not only help avert local product displacement, but save on shipping costs and improve the delivery time of food aid in emergency situations. Like you, I support USAID's goal of increasing efficiencies in international food aid programs to save money and feed more hungry people. While there are strong, competing views on the issue and I am doubtful that we will achieve the sweeping reforms USAID proposes in a single year, I will continue to work with the Department of Agriculture, USAID, and other public and private sector partners to address the inefficiencies in monetization and provide greater resources for local and regional purchase of food. 

Sincerely,  

 PATRICK LEAHY
United States Senator

The David Wax Museum Show: Helping to Improve Foreign Aid

The David Wax Museum was generous enough to let us be at their concert last week at Higher Ground. The band has been a great supporter of Oxfam since David Wax interned with Oxfam several years ago. Needless to say, he is dedicated to the organization. He was also a very friendly guy, who was open and kind to the many fans who showed up for the concert.

We were there to see a great show, but also to gain signatures for a petition to reform US food aid. Thanks to the insight and outstanding new policies suggested in the President’s budget proposal for FY14, we have the exciting opportunity to overhaul the out-dated foreign aid delivery systems that have been in place since 1955. This is a giant leap to bring poverty and food aid policies into the 21st century.

Federal politicians from both sides of the aisle have committed to keep an open mind to these policies, that will greatly increase efficiencies in foreign aid. However, to take politicians from considering to voting in favor of these programs require your help. We were able to gain almost fifty signatures at the show, but lobbying groups are drowning our voice, and we need all of the support that we can get. You can help by sending a note to Congress here.

In the meantime if you would like to get information on the revolutionary aid policies from other organizations that from across the ideological spectrum, check out these informative links:

• InterAction: an alliance of over 180 U.S. based international non-governmental organizations (NGOs): http://www.interaction.org/work/foreign-assistance-reform
• Devex: a membership organization that delivers business information and recruitment services to the international development community. https://www.devex.com/en/blogs/400/blogs_entries/80681
• The Hill: a daily congressional newspaper: http://thehill.com/opinion/op-ed/274151-overhaul-of-us-foreign-aid-is-overdue
• MFAN: Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network: http://www.modernizeaid.net/tag/conservatives/

A New Year for the Vermont Oxfam Action Corps

Every year two new Action Corps Organizers are chosen to lead each city's Oxfam Action Corps. Our goal, as trained organizers, is to be the on-the-ground arm of Oxfam's campaigning efforts. This means that we help spread the message about the inequalities and poverty in the world, but more importantly, we show the simple ways in which people across America can help end these inequalities, one action and one petition at a time.

Before we start to table farmers' markets, and spread the message at concerts, hunger banquets, and other events, all of the new organizers had to get trained. Here's what it involved:

For four days, 29 amazing people from 15 cities across the country congregated in Washington D.C. We spent three days locked away in a beautiful classroom, getting to know each other and the intricacies of how Oxfam is organized and run. We learned how to organize, spread the message, and even lobby. In fact, we spent our final day in the capital, talking to our representatives and senators about the President's policy to reform Food Aid.

Over the coming months, expect to hear more from myself and my co-organizer as we hit the ground, gathering partners and volunteers, and looking to make a difference for those in need in any way we can. Interested in joining us? Send us an email at Vermont@OxfamActionCorps.org. We look forward to meeting you!

Act Local, Think Global!

Support Women Farmers
Fight Global Hunger 

Build a Better Food System

Join the Oxfam Action Corps!

www.oxfamactioncorps.org

Advocate in your community on behalf of millions worldwide

Free spaces are available at training April 13-16, 2013  – Apply now!

ð  Are you concerned that the people who grow the world’s food—many of whom are women—cannot afford to feed their own families?  And that one in eight people goes to bed hungry every night even though the world produces enough food for everybody?

ð  Do you want to take action in your city to achieve policies to sustainably feed a growing population and empower poor people to earn a living, feed their families, and thrive?

ð  Are you willing to reach out to others in your community to hold governments and businesses accountable for the impact of their policies and practices on the environment and global food security?

Oxfam America, an international relief and development organization, invites you to join the Oxfam Action Corps, an exciting effort to cultivate grassroots leaders and political change.

Oxfam Action Corps volunteers work closely with Oxfam staff to engage their community and elected officials. We will provide training and support throughout a one-year time commitment.  You'll meet amazing activists, build community, and drive political solutions.

We are recruiting for the Oxfam Action Corps in these cities:

Albuquerque, NM	Columbus, OH	Minn./St Paul, MN
Austin, TX	Des Moines, IA	New York City, NY
Boston, MA	Indianapolis, IN	Philadelphia, PA
Burlington, VT	Kansas City, MO	San Francisco, CA
Chicago, IL	Madison, WI	Seattle, WA

Here is what previous Oxfam Action Corps volunteers said:

“Oxfam Action Corps has given me a ton of confidence… gaining knowledge and being able to speak to people about the issues.”  Amy , Business Operations Analyst, Des Moines

“I liked it, loved it, actually.  I now have a better appreciation for activism and I do believe that it can really make a difference!”  Debby, Graduate Student, VT

"This has become one of the best parts of my life… I can't express enough how satisfying it is to be organizing with people who are just as committed and dependable and passionate." – Isaac., Educator, New York City

          Sign-up by February 14 at:

            www.oxfamactioncorps.org 

Why Agriculture?

Why Agriculture???

By Heather Davis, Vermont Oxfam Action Corps Co-Organizer

I have been doing a bit of reflection lately, and one question I’ve asked myself is: “Why am I so interested in agricultural development?”  I don’t farm – I barely have a vegetable garden, although I did have a large one and some chickens at one time in my past life, pre-children.  I am not a good cook, or a natural cook in any sense of the word – although I do love and appreciate healthy, fresh food.  Nor is it simply a romantic notion about rural life and farming – I have lived in rural areas for most of my life and know first-hand the hard work and realities of farming.

What I think it comes down to is that I know that about one-third of the worlds’ population works in agriculture – including 43% of women in developing countries.  I know that the majority of those that are hungry around the world are actually farmers.  I see the injustices in our current food system – both to people and the earth.  I know that everyone deserves the chance to live their lives to their full potential, and agriculture can be the avenue to such a promise.

I feel as though one of the ways to live out my values of simplicity, supporting people, and working with the earth is to promote agriculture – small-scale, sustainable agriculture, whether it be local (Vermont for me) or global (read up on the current Farm Bill).  I have been fortunate to be involved with both levels of supporting farming.

I am truly blessed with my current work at the Center for an Agricultural Economy in Hardwick, VT, which is an organization that works to develop the local food system.  My specific work there includes monitoring and project work and I am able to contribute to the promotion of well-being in the community in which I live – a rural community whose history is steeped in agriculture and which is experiencing a synchronistic renaissance of sustainable rural development.

I have also recently had the great opportunity to get involved with Oxfam America  – an impressive international relief and development organization – as one of two organizers for the Vermont Oxfam Action Corps.  This allows me to stay connected to my passion for working toward equal opportunities for people around the world.  Nobody should be left behind because of where they were born, and by left behind I don’t mean they don’t have the opportunity to shop at the local mall for frivolous impulses.  I mean to be able to feed their families, have some leisure time, and not have to take desperate measures to provide themselves and their families with their basic needs.

A famine is currently developing in the Sahel region of West Africa, which follows a famine in East Africa last year.  This is completely unacceptable in current times – we have the ability to prevent the suffering and deaths that have and will happen, if we prioritize it.  Let us all hold these people in our hearts and minds as we go about our lives.  But more than that, let us work toward making famine history.

There are two approaches to the promotion of well-being and meeting basic needs among those who are currently struggling in the Sahel: emergency aid and long-term development.  Currently we can make a difference to those in the Sahel and other regions in need by contacting our representatives in the House of Representatives and ask them to include a provision in the current Farm Bill to increase local purchasing of food aid and to eliminate the monetization of food aid.  Food aid, as it is currently implemented, is a very inefficient system that is fraught with special interests that contradict the intended purpose of food aid.  You can also sign this petition with Oxfam.

Everyone deserves a chance at providing a good life for themselves and their families, and with about one-third of the world making their living in agriculture, investing in small-scale farmers is a way to do so with tremendous impact.

[If you’re interested in getting involved with the Vermont Oxfam Action Corps, please email Heather and Kayla at Vermont@oxfamactioncorps.org and “Like” us on Facebook]

We're recruiting! Join the Oxfam Action Corps and fight hunger worldwide

Hey Everyone,

Oxfam America is currently recruiting new volunteers for 2012-2013. If you are interested in joining the Oxfam Action Corps please sign up and spread the word by February 14th at http://www.oxfamactioncorps.org/.

Join the Oxfam Action Corps to support women farmers, fight global hunger, and build a better food system! You will meet great people and work together to change laws that can save lives, defend the rights of the world’s poorest farmers, and protect communities from rising food prices and climate change. You will gain leadership skills, have fun, and change the world!

Anybody can join the local effort! All levels of experience are welcome. You can also apply for Oxfam’s free four-day leadership training in Washington D.C. May 12 – May 15.

This year, we will mobilize for the GROW campaign for global food justice. The women and men in poor countries who struggle to grow enough food to feed their families are facing competition for land and water, rising prices, and climate change. We will call for laws that support women and farmers, sustainable practices, and resilience to climate change, and ensure a better future for people in the poorest regions of the world.

This is a year-round volunteer opportunity, with a deadline of February 14 to apply for the spring training. Find out more and sign up at http://www.oxfamactioncorps.org/ .

Check out this video to see what we are all about:

Earth Week at UVM

http://www.uvm.edu/bored/calendar/category/earth-week

Sister on the Planet will be showing on Earth Day, April 22nd at 5pm at UVM's Brennan's Pub. Please join local Oxfam American supporters and learn from firsthand accounts of how climate change is impacting women leaders throughout the world!