Criminal Justice Reform and Hunger
Bread for the World believes that reforming our nation's criminal justice system is critical to ending hunger and poverty in the United States. Families are directly impacted when loved ones are incarcerated, especially if they are serving long prison sentences.
People returning from incarceration face daunting re-entry challenges, and the families of prisoners often struggle to make ends meet while their loved ones are unable to provide care and income. In a study by the National Institutes of Health, 91 percent of returning citizens reported being food insecure.
Hunger is one cruel but avoidable result of a legal and penal system that incarcerates millions, disproportionately people of color. In fact, U.S. poverty would have dropped by 20 percent between 1980 and 2004 if not for mass incarceration.
Reforms through legislation
Bread advocates for legislation that reduces mandatory minimum sentences, provides additional opportunities for educational and vocational training for those who are incarcerated, and expands access to re-entry services for the formerly incarcerated and their families.
The reforms should be aimed at:
- reducing crime
- rethinking sentencing
- rehabilitating incarcerated individuals
- ensuring people successfully re-enter their communities by reducing their risk of hunger and poverty
More specifically, Bread advocates for providing more opportunities for formerly incarcerated people to find work, making safety-net programs available to them, and encouraging their efforts to be with and support their families. If some of the legal and social barriers are removed for returning citizens, Bread believes hunger and poverty will decrease.
Tools
from our Resource Library
For Education
Election Resources
One of the best times to raise the issues of hunger and poverty is during election campaigns. Engage candidates in your state/district on hunger and poverty using our elections resources.U.S. Hunger and Poverty State Fact Sheets
These fact sheets provide a snapshot of hunger and poverty in the United States and in each state plus Washington, D.C.
Fact Sheet: COVID-19 Global Pandemic, Better Nutrition Protects Lives
With the coronavirus now spreading in low-resource contexts and new waves of infection expected in the coming year, better nutrition for vulnerable people is more important than ever.
For Faith
Finding Hope, Ending Hunger on Both Sides of the Border: A Bilingual Latino Devotional
Devotional writers challenge us to feel the Spirit of God within us and to hear God’s urgent call to demand justice so all can put food on the table.The Bible on Health as a Hunger Issue
“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in faith.” These words from Colossians 2:6 remind us of the faith that is active in love for our neighbors.
The Bible on...
Unity Declaration on Racism and Poverty
A diverse body of Christian leaders calls on the churches and Congress to focus on the integral connection.
Dear Members of Congress,
As the president and Congress are preparing their plans for this year, almost 100 church leaders—from all the families of U.S. Christianity—are...
For Advocacy
Fact Sheet: Coronavirus (COVID-19) and SNAP
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is designed to respond to changes in need, making it well suited to respond to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fact Sheet: Why We Need $200 Million for Global Nutrition Programs
Bread for the World and its partners are asking Congress to provide $200 million for global nutrition in the fiscal year 2020 budget.
Fact Sheet: Hunger by the Numbers
In 2017, 11.8 percent of households in the U.S.—40 million people—were food-insecure, meaning that they were unsure at some point during the year about how they would provide for their next meal.