Advocates Deliver 47,000 Postcards to Tell USDA: “No One Deserves to Go Hungry”
With more than 47 million Americans struggling with hunger, advocates at MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger took to the streets of Washington, DC this week to raise the alarm with a simple message — no one deserves to go hungry. The organization delivered 47,000 postcards from Americans across the country to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins, the culmination of a year-long campaign to elevate the voices of individuals and communities concerned about America’s hunger crisis. With each postcard representing 1,000 food insecure people in America, the campaign created a broad coalition of communities standing together in the face of unprecedented attacks on critical basic needs programs.
MAZON Vice President of Community Engagement Naama Haviv stated,
“Hunger is a deeply pervasive threat to so many people in America. But the remarkable coalition we’ve assembled in response gives me hope. Each one of us has the same goal in writing these 47,000 postcards — to create a country and a world where no one has to go hungry. Whatever the circumstances are that pushed someone into food insecurity, our faith demands that we do everything in our power to help them. This remarkable campaign is proof that so many of us are ready to do so, and we are proud to give every single person who filled out a postcard such a prominent seat at the table in our fight against hunger.”
In an ongoing effort to raise awareness about hunger in America, MAZON’s “No One Deserves to Go Hungry” campaign collected postcards for a full year, amplifying voices and concerns from diverse communities in every state in the U.S. From synagogues to churches, youth groups to book clubs, and countless individuals hosting postcard parties in their homes, tens of thousands of letters all offered a unified plea to USDA leadership to take concrete steps to combat food insecurity rather than enable and worsen the crisis.
MAZON Vice President of Public Affairs Liza Lieberman added,
“Over the past year, we have seen so much recklessness from the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress. From budget cuts, to devastating SNAP changes, to escalating hostility towards those facing hunger, it has been a dark time. I sincerely hope this campaign provides the opportunity for Secretary Rollins and USDA leadership to hear what the American public is saying — that we need our government to support those facing hunger, rather than turn their backs. We, along with thousands of supporters, are ready to do the work to end hunger, and we hope that our government is finally ready to work with us on real solutions.”
In addition to MAZON advocates delivering the postcards to USDA, House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (MN-02) entered a statement into the Congressional record, commemorating the campaign and calling for USDA to protect, rather than cut, programs like SNAP. The statement read, in part:
“The more than 47,000 handwritten postcards MAZON delivered today… are an expression of concern and outrage over the state of hunger in America and the need to take positive action to address it— not exacerbate it, as Republicans in Congress and the White House have chosen to do over the past year. It is an important reminder of what can happen when we refuse to lose hope. A reminder that we should continue challenging politicians who say that America can’t afford to feed its people. My hope is that these postcards refocus this administration on the things that matter. I hope that they remind the Secretary of her duty to carry out SNAP in good faith and as it was intended: to provide for the basic nutritional needs of the American people; to provide a hand up at a time when so many need help affording groceries, rent, utilities and childcare.”
The campaign has continued to mobilize advocates in DC and beyond, with a national call-in day bringing together partners to call USDA throughout the day, driving home the messages of the campaign and ensuring that members of the administration hear advocates’ concerns. Additionally, a mobile billboard took to the streets of our nation’s capital throughout the week, displaying images of the postcards, engaging with the public, and encouraging participation in the fight against hunger.
To commemorate the campaign beyond this week’s delivery, MAZON launched a new website displaying the postcards in a clean, easy-to-read and sharable format that allows viewers to take further action to end hunger. The site can be found at mazon.org/postcards.
To learn more about the impact of Congressional cuts and White House actions to SNAP and other food assistance programs, visit mazon.org/snap.