Tuesday, October 20, 2020
On Sunday as many of us were sitting down to our dinners a federal judge struck down an administration proposal to end food stamps for nearly 700,000 unemployed persons. In a scathing 67-page opinion Judge Beryl Howard asked why would any government restrict food when unemployment had quadrupled and the enrollment rolls under SNAP had grown by 17 percent.
The devastating cuts were first proposed in January just before the pandemic began and when states asked the federal government to rescind the cuts in light of the pandemic, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue refused.
In response, the states brought a lawsuit stating that the cuts were arbitrary and capricious. This suit had a coalition of 19 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City, including states with Democratic and Republican governors. Perdue has not said whether there will be an appeal.
Prayer for the Day
You call us, O God, to feed the hungry and to clothe the naked,
But as a Nation we have neglected those in need;
You call us to bind up the brokenhearted, O God,
But we have not extended mercy to those who need it most.
Forgive us our inability to see the realities around us,
And transform our neglect into a true response to your call,
In the name of him who transforms our lives,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Feel what it’s like to truly starve, and I guarantee you’ll think twice about wasting food.
Criss Jami, American writer
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed.
Dwight David Eisenhower, President (1890–1969)
Happy are those whose help is in the God of Jacob, . . .
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.
Psalm 146:5a–7