Beyond Bread: Increases in Everything

~Thank you to our friends at DCist for the help these last couple of weeks. They folded Art with a Heart, our annual gala/auction to support our crucial programs, into the Arts Agenda. Then, always a pal, they pointed their readers to our post stating that one of our clients is looking for a vacuum.

~Bread for the City also signed on to an open letter to Congress and the Administration this week asking them to fully fund housing programs. Doing this will have a significant positive impact on the housing market, will reduce homelessness, and will provide stability to many residents living in economic instability. It’s also just a nice thing to do.

~Care2 picked up the story we posted about trying to change to tax code to encourage farmers to donate excess crops to pantries.

~The New York Times has really been on the ball lately. They ran a good piece on how our country really doesn’t have a health insurance program for the poor despite many people thinking we do (DC, by the way, has one of the best in the country). Equally true was a report on how food pantries are seeing a giant increase in the number of people we’re serving (at BFC, about a 10% increase).

~Bloomberg reports that the number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits is now at 4.99 million.