Interfaith-pledge to survive a week on poverty fare

from The Baltimore Sun

by Matthew Hay Brown

Did you hear the one about the Muslim, the Jew and the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee?

The three are among the latest to take the Food Stamp Challenge – a pledge to eat on $21 for the week, the average amount received by participants in the U.S. Food Stamp Program.

Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the only Muslim in Congress, Rabbi Steve Gutow, executive director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who chairs the House Democrats’ election fundraising organization, said today that they hoped their participation would help to raise awareness of poverty in America.

"I don’t care which faith tradition you come from," Ellison told reporters. "you cannot justify living in a country with 36 million poor people."

Members who took the challenge earlier this year warned their colleagues of the hunger, fatigue and irritability ahead.

"It’s not a pleasant thing to go through," said Rep. Jim McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat. "But you also learn that when you’re poor in this country, it takes a lot of work to get through life."

Matthew Hay Brown covers Congress for the Baltimore Sun, a Tribune Co. newspaper.