A Collaborative Keynote Address

There are no religious boundaries in the fight against hunger. Our message is that people of different faith traditions (and even those who do not subscribe to any organized faith-based group) stand on common ground when we work together to address hunger and its systemic causes. And yet, we also acknowledge and celebrate the particular tradition that has provided the moral grounding behind our efforts to end hunger in New Mexico and elsewhere.

Kathryn Arndt, ,Brenda Sinfield staff display table

The Interfaith Hunger Coalition was invited to present a keynote address at the Fourth Annual End Hunger Summit in New Mexico. Kathy Freeze from Catholic Charities, Rachel Sternheim from Congregation Albert, Rabia Sahin Orhan from the Dialogue Institute/Turkish Raindrop House and Gabriela Marques from the Albuquerque Baha'i Community spoke of their faith motivation to end hunger and also highlighted the work of each of their communities in Albuquerque. 

Ellen Buelow, chair of the Interfaith Hunger Coalition Advocacy Committee (and member of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Catholic Community), opened with background and history of our organization.

Carlos Navarro--IHC convener, member of St. John XXIII Catholic Community and state coordinator for Bread for the World--closed with a vision and proposal to end hunger in New Mexico. Carlos' message is that the effort to end hunger requires that we look at the big picture as well as examine each of the reasons why our state has such a high rate of hunger. He urged that we look at hunger in the rural areas and native communities as well as the different factors affecting children, seniors and working families. 

Watch for more information, including a couple of videos, in coming days.

Ari Herring

Our diverse coalition was also reflected in the group of volunteers who staffed our display table, including Kathryn Arndt (Community of Hope), Brenda Sinfield (First Presbyterian Church), Joy Dinaro (Immaculate Conception Catholic Church), Sarah Rahman (Islamic Center of New Mexico). Another one of our members, Ari Herring of the Rio Grande Food Project, was staffing a table for her organization.

One highlight of the conference was the opportunity to hear from Sen. Michael Padilla, sponsor of the The Hunger-Free Students’ Bill of Rights, (SB374), which passed the Senate in a 30-7 vote in March. The measure was later approved unanimously in the state House of Representatives.  Here is a very short video of his address. (Please pardon the poor audio. My recording device is not very good).