10 Million Bangladeshis Move Above $1.25 a Day

I was once in a lobby meeting talking to a Congressional aide about microcredit. I was asking for the Representative to sign onto a bill to grant Muhammad Yunus the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor for his pioneering work with microfinance for the very poor. She said to me something like, "But microcredit only really affects a few people that get loans. Shouldn't we be focusing on industry instead?"

This led to a deeper conversation pointing out that microcredit helps people in a way that they need to be helped, in a way of their choosing. I told her a true story of a boy in Ghana who earned his education through his family's microloan then grew a large business that helps the economy of his country. We talked about it off and on for over a year until the Congresswoman she worked for finally signed onto the bill. But I can't help but wonder if this report from the Microcredit Summit Campaign had been released at the time of that initial conversation- would she have been swayed sooner by the report which can be summed up in the exciting statement "10 Million Bangladeshis Move Above $1.25 a Day"?

This new report is inspiring evidence that microcredit works! Please give it a read:
http://www.microcreditsummit.org/news/10_million_bangladeshis_move_above_1.25_a_day/

Child Nutrition bill passes...remind Congress to restore SNAP benefits

From the Greater Chicago Food Depository...
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After more than a year of your letters, calls and e-mails to Congress, I am thrilled to report that the House passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act last week. The bill, which we expect will be signed into law by President Obama, will reauthorize child nutrition programs for five years and includes an additional $4.5 billion in funding for school meal programs over 10 years. In addition to improving the quality of school meals, the bill will help hundreds of thousands of children receive nutritious food after school, on evenings, during summer and during weekends. The Greater Chicago Food Depository operates nearly 100 children’s programs and serves more than 250,000 children every year in Cook County.
While we applaud the passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, we’re concerned that the bill is partly paid for by cutting future Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program) benefits. Please join us in thanking the House for passing the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act while reminding Congress that the restoration of SNAP cuts is essential in ensuring families can continue to put food on the table.
Thank you for helping the hungry.

Kate Maehr
Executive Director and CEO
Greater Chicago Food Depository

Food Depository CEO, Kate Maeher, on WBEZ

From WBEZ, which carried a segment about hunger in Chicago on the show Eight Forty-Eight.
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According to the latest statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 50 million Americans, including about 17 million children, lack consistent access to food. There are efforts to improve this situation. Back in August, the U.S. Senate passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. The bill still requires congressional approval.

To discuss hunger in America and how it plays out in Chicago, Eight Forty-Eight spoke to the CEO of the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Kate Maehr.

http://www.wbez.org/episode-segments/americas-hunger-problem-moves-beyond-starvation