charities that help hungry and poor people in this country and around the world were involved in advocacy. Charities helped poor people, but thought they couldn’t and shouldn’t get involved in politics. That has changed, and Bread for the World encouraged the change. We argued that charities should speak up for the people they serve. We wrote about this and convened meetings about it. As key charities started to expand their involvement in advocacy, Bread for the World helped them. I have served for many years as a board member of InterAction, the association of U.S. charities that work in developing countries, and Bread for the World staff helped plan their first events on Capitol Hill. InterAction and some of its member charities are now major partners in advocacy. We also partnered with Feeding America, the main network of U.S. food banks and food charities, as they expanded their involvement in advocacy. We worked with them on Washington events and legislative campaigns. Bread for the World has also had some influence on Catholic Charities, World Vision, Lutheran World Relief, and MAZON (the main Jewish antihunger organization)—urging them to put more effort into advocacy and collaborating as they did so.
