Feb
17
Food Policy Roundtable
On January 20, the CLC, along with members of a small steering committee, convened the first ever meeting of the Texas Food Policy Roundtable. This new coalition is one way the CLC is committed to fighting hunger in Texas and support the goal of the Texas Hunger Initiative of ending hunger in Texas by 2015. To reach this lofty, but obtainable goal, work must be done not only on the local level through THI’s Food Planning Associations, but also on a statewide level by looking at how good public policy can help make Texas food secure.
The meeting was a success with over forty individuals representing diverse organizations, many of whom had not previously met, in attendance. The group heard a recap of workshops conducted at the Hunger Summit, heard from expert advocates about the recent history of food and hunger policy in Texas, and learned current ways they can advocate for hungry citizens on the state and federal level. In the coming months the roundtable work toward crafting policy priorities that support advocacy efforts in four categories: children’s summer feeding programs, nutrition and obesity, local and sustainable food and SNAP (food stamp) enrolment and eligibility.
The CLC will coordinate communication to and among roundtable members and in the coming weeks will be launching an email newsletter and website dedicated to hunger policy.
Hispanic Education Leadership Day
On Tuesday, February 2, 2010, the Christian Life Commission was happy to host members of the Hispanic Education Initiative Council, officers from Convención, members of the education committee of Convención, Texas Baptists Associate Executive Director, Steve Vernon, members of Texas Baptist Men and WMU leadership, as well as members of the BGCT Executive Board, for a day of advocacy and learning about education issues in Texas. The event was held at the state Capitol and included a time for participants to meet with their state legislators’ office about relevant interim charges.
The day’s speakers included Jan Lindsey from the Texas Education Agency, who spoke on dropout prevention in the state, and Sylvia Acevedo, renowned public speaker and founder of La Feria para Aprender (a bilingual parent outreach fair held in various cities across the state), who discussed Texas demographics both present and future and what it means for education and the workforce in Texas. Bill Pounds from the educational software group AZTEC gave a demonstration of the company’s workforce training software program, and Luis Figueroa, an attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), spoke about the DREAM Act, the Census and federal and state immigration issue. Lester Meriwether, president of Literacy Connexus, gave a presentation on the Literacy Texas coalition as well. In small groups, participants discussed what they had learned from the day and how they can implement that knowledge into their church lives and communities. Thank you to the participants; it was indeed a blessed day!
Public Policy at the CLC Annual Conference
On March 22 & 23 the CLC Annual Conference will be held at Calvary Baptist Church in McAllen, TX. The theme this year is Neither Need Nor Greed: Christian Stewardship of Money and Resources. Several speakers will touch on topics relating to public policy including predatory business practices like payday lending, the lottery and gambling. Stephen Reeves of the CLC and consultant Rob Kohler will make a presentation explaining why current law and past history demonstrate that the idea of limited casino gambling expansion in Texas is flawed and would lead to uncontrolled and unregulated Native American Casinos.
We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.
Comments
Leave a Reply