April 21, 2008 11:51 AM

The Farm Bill & Nonprofit Services

The slow in the economy is increasingly detrimental to the nonprofit community, especially to agencies whose mission is to serve the poor. As financial support to these agencies drop off with the economic slump, there is a rise in the number of clients in need of services. Food banks and hunger-relief groups in particular are having a hard time.

America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest charitable hunger-relief organization, is urging the public to write Congress in support of a Farm Bill that includes provisions for federal nutrition programs. Farmers are experiencing a strong demand for their crops and therefore have less surplus to provide to hunger-relief programs. The Farm Bill has potential to give aid to these programs, allowing them to compete for surplus and insure a food supply for the millions of low income Americans who rely on such programs.

I am pleased to know that America's Second Harvest is among the 50 nonprofit groups that Working Assets/CREDO members are supporting this year. As a new Working Assets Credit Card holder and Working Assets employee, I am happy that my everyday spending helps sustain the environmental organizations that I typically donate to but also worthwhile agencies that are critical to the health and welfare of millions of people.