Nebraska State Senator lives on food stamp diet - Omaha.com

Senator lives on food stamp diet - Omaha.com

State Sen. Heath Mello bought a loaf of wheat bread, a half-gallon of skim milk, peanut butter, jelly and Frosted Mini-Wheats from the grocery near his midtown Omaha home last Sunday.
Those five items, which rang up to less than $16.85, have constituted his entire diet this week.
Mello and Beverly Neel, an assistant to State Sen. Dave Bloomfield of Hoskins, are trying to subsist on the food allowance of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — commonly known as food stamps — in order to draw attention to the lack of healthy food available to low-income families.

Operation Others Hosts Speaker on Homelessness

Operation Others hosted Matthew Works, a speaker on homelessness to Creighton Prep this past week. The theme of Matthew’s talk was offering hospitality and refuge to the homeless. Matthew has been homeless since 1997 and for the past several years has traveled the country being an advocate for the homeless. Matthew showed students from Prep some of his artwork, including a Church he constructed with passages from scripture, including the words of Jesus “Come unto me all ye that labor and I will give you rest.” But on the front of the Church is a lock signifying how we fail to provide refuge and shelter for the homeless in our midst.  Matthew makes the point that Jesus experienced homelessness, yet our Churches today are not as hospitable as they could be to welcome the homeless in whom Christ continues to be present. 

Students involved in O.O. serve meals at the Francis House, a homeless shelter in Omaha, each year and help out with the Streets of Omaha Project which provides food to the homeless and those living in poverty through the Open Door Mission. Matthew’s presentation was challenging, calling us to move beyond giving food to the hungry and homeless, but seeking ways that we can truly be hospitable and provide refuge.

United States Catholic Bishops Letter to Congress Regarding Proposed Cuts

Here is a snippet of a letter sent by the U.S. Catholic Bishops to Congres. Please click the link below to read the entire letter.

The spending choices of Congress have clear moral and human dimensions; they reflect our values as a

people. Catholic Bishops are not policy makers, but pastors and teachers. I recognize that these decisions

are not easy, but poor and vulnerable people have a priority claim on our limited, although still

substantive, financial resources. In efforts to pass a responsible spending resolution for the remainder of

FY 2011, decisions should be made that not only reflect a commitment to national and long term fiscal

security, but also demonstrate justice, compassion and fairness. My plea, then, is simple: Put poor and

vulnerable people first as you consider how to spend limited federal resources.

Sincerely,

Bishop Stephen E. Blaire

Diocese of Stockton

Chairman, Committee on Domestic Justice

http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/Final-2011-CR-letter-Domestic-Senate.pdf

Fiscal Year Cuts: In the coming weeks, Congress will debate deep spending cuts in the federal government’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget. Please take action.

Fiscal Year Cuts: In the coming weeks, Congress will debate deep spending cuts in the federal government’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget. Fiscal responsibility is important, and it requires shared sacrifice and a priority concern for poor persons at home and abroad in our budget choices. Some of the largest proposed funding cuts include:

•   $2.3 billion from job training programs •   $1.08 billion from Head Start •   $100 million from Emergency Food and Shelter •   $875 million from International Disaster Assistance •   $800 million from International Food Aid •   $2.5 billion from affordable housing •   $1 billion from Community Health Centers $904 million from migrants and refugees Call your Senators and tell them: Current proposals fail the moral criteria of Catholic teaching to protect the poor and advance the common good and the Constitutional requirement to promote the general welfare. Poor and vulnerable people didn’t cause our budget deficit. They should not bear the greatest burdens in overcoming them. Don’t make them pay for it. Shared sacrifice should guide budget cuts, not disproportionate cuts in programs that serve poor persons at home or abroad. Take Action Here.

FEEDING AMERICA CONCERNED THAT PROPOSED BUDGET CUTS COULD LEAD TO INCREASED FOOD INSECURITY IN THE U.S.

FEEDING AMERICA CONCERNED THAT PROPOSED BUDGET CUTS COULD LEAD TO INCREASED FOOD INSECURITY IN THE U.S.

FeedingAmerica.org
February 16, 2011

CHICAGO – Feb. 16, 2011 – This week, Congress begins debate over a bill that would significantly cut spending in 2011. President Obama released his budget request for 2012 on Monday. Both of these proposals include cuts to programs that serve low-income families. As a result, many of the people served by Feeding America, the country’s largest domestic hunger relief organization, are likely to experience increased hardship.

“Feeding America urges the President and Congress to keep first and foremost in their minds the needs of our most vulnerable Americans as decisions are made about balancing the budget and reducing budget deficits,” said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America. “Programs that make up the federal safety net, including nutrition programs, which provide a lifeline to struggling families, absolutely must be off the table.”

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED MAKE THIS YEAR'S PROJECT A SUCCESS

Because of your help, Operation Others delivered...
*1673 turkeys and 2779 packages of stuffing
*13,294 oranges
*26,235 potatoes
*13,946 apples
*2650 jars of peanut butter and 6390 loaves of bread
*4272 cans of tuna
*4048 bags of rice and 2163 bags of pinto beans
*2858 gallons of milk
*2928 packages of pasta and 2858 jars of pasta sauce
*2890 containers of oatmeal and cereal
*2578 containers of juice
*3201 cans of mixed vegetables, 3506 cans of corn, 1465 cans of green beans, 2172 packages of frozen pot roast vegetables
*4142 cans of apple sauce, 4142 cans of peaches, 6097 cans of mixed fruit, 1607 bags of frozen blueberries.
*2985 bags of shredded cheese

As you know, this food lasts each of the 1,667 families approximately 2 weeks.  Please consider donating food to the St. Martin de Porres Center, the Juan Diego Center, or the Heart Ministry Center to allow these families access to more food throughout the year. Also, please consider supporting legislation aimed at making structural changes to alleviate hunger, poverty and food insecurity.

Student Reflection: O.O. students serve the evening meal at Siena-Francis House

On October 18th and November 13th, O.O. core team members served the evening meal at the Siena-Francis House.  During the four seatings, we served food trays to about 250 people.  Here is a link to the Siena-Francis House's website http://www.sienafrancis.org/ Here is Nate's (from the OO core team) reflection on the experience.

            Amongst the apparent chaos of the cafeteria during the evening meal at the Sienna-Francis House, five words reign supreme: “Thank you sir. God bless.”

            When I first arrived at the Sienna-Francis House, I was a little apprehensive about how much I would enjoy the experience, because I had homework, meetings, and other obligations that I felt I needed to attend to.  However, I soon found myself trying to keep up with the frantic pace that is inevitable when trying to feed 250 people in a relatively short period of time.  During one of the prayers I was looking out over the group of people who had come to be served, and it became apparent to me that they were grateful to be there, perhaps not happy, but nonetheless grateful.  This realization forced me to slow down and enjoy the experience rather than looking at it as obligation to be fulfilled.  After changing my perception I began to realize that I wasn’t that different from the people who were eating at the Sienna-Francis House, especially the younger diners.  If my parents weren’t blessed with the jobs that they have I wouldn’t be able to support myself.  I am dependent on someone else for my survival, and the critical difference between me and them is luck.  A lost job, death, or other unfortunate circumstance could quickly turn the tables.

Furthermore, I was thoroughly impressed with the people at the Sienna-Francis House, because they weren’t bitter about being served by a group of students from private high schools who have earned only a small amount of what they have.  I don’t think I could do the same if I was in their position.  I can honestly say that I have never met a group of people that were quite so grateful for what they were being given.  I think this is something to keep in mind for those of us who have been dealt a more promising hand in life.  We must remember that the world doesn’t consist of us and them, rather just us.