From ELCA Advocacy, October 10, 2025. As of this day in October 2025, the Farm Bill has expired, leaving critical hunger networks and many in rural communities in policy limbo. It was last reauthorized in 2018 and temporarily extended through September 30, 2025. This comprehensive legislation traditionally governs SNAP nutrition assistance, rural infrastructure, agricultural research, and farm-to-food bank connections that many of our congregations and social ministry organizations depend upon to serve those in need.

With the Farm Bill’s expiration, lawmakers have the opportunity to craft new legislation that strengthens our ability to support the hungry and those of us in the greatest need. We urge our representatives to support a renewed Farm Bill that prevents upcoming barriers to SNAP benefits, recognizing that these programs are lifelines for struggling families in our communities—including many in rural America facing mounting economic pressures from tariffs, declining commodity prices, and rising production costs.

The expiration has particularly impacted “orphan” programs, which have lacked reliable funding since 2023 – including agricultural research programs, scholarships for young farmers, and oversubscribed conservation programs. International feeding initiatives, such as Food for Peace and the McGovern-Dole school feeding program—which provide meals to hungry children worldwide—face uncertain futures. Domestically, farm-to-food bank programs that connect agricultural abundance with hungry neighbors have lost critical support, straining food ministries operated by Lutheran Social Services, church food pantries, and other faith-based hunger relief ministries already stretched thin by increased demand.

Congregations often witness firsthand how families who steward the land and feed our nation are themselves struggling. Through Action Alerts and federal advocacy, we ask lawmakers to restore these vital programs and support policies that uplift both rural communities and the vulnerable populations our faith compels us to serve.

The Farm Bill

The Farm Bill, which guides much of U.S. agriculture, rural and food policy, is currently being debated in Congress. The ELCA urges Congress to pass a 2024 Farm Bill that promotes:

• food for hungry neighbors at home and abroad,
• healthy rural and farming communities,
• inclusion of people of all backgrounds,
• care of creation to feed future generations

In a world of abundance, we strive for an end to hunger and poverty, and towards a just world where all are fed. Additionally, we are to work with each other and the environment to meet needs without causing undue burdens elsewhere. The Farm Bill is one of the most influential pieces of legislation affecting hunger and conservation in the U.S. and around the world.

Our social statements call for policies that provide adequate nutrition for all and create livelihood opportunities that are genuinely sustainable. We urge lawmakers to pass a 2024 Farm Bill that reflects these faith-based values.

The ACLU of Nevada has filed a lawsuit challenging ICE’s misuse of Nevada’s law enforcement to carry out its federal immigration agenda.

This unlawful 287(g) agreement between the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD), and ICE undermines Nevada’s justice system, obstructs state court orders, and wastes taxpayer dollars. Nevada’s law enforcement should serve our communities – not act as agents of federal immigration enforcement.

Creator God,
we give you thanks for the first peoples of this land — for their care of the earth, their wisdom, and their resilience. We honor the stories, traditions, and lives of Indigenous communities who have lived in harmony with creation since time immemorial.

Forgive us for the ways colonization and injustice have silenced voices and broken relationships. Open our hearts to truth and healing, that we may walk in right relationship with our Indigenous neighbors, listening, learning, and standing in solidarity.

May your Spirit move among us to bring justice to the oppressed, healing to the wounded, and renewed hope for all peoples who call this land home.

In the name of the One who brings reconciliation and peace, Amen.

Earlier this month, the City of Sparks became one of the first cities in Nevada to begin the process of creating a city ordinance to regulate data centers.

Data centers are rapidly expanding across our state — often without clear guidance or oversight. These facilities can be highly resource-intensive, consuming large amounts of energy and water.

Unlike many other jurisdictions, Sparks is taking proactive steps to address these impacts through thoughtful regulation.

At Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada (LEAN), we believe in caring for creation and protecting our shared, vulnerable resources. This step by the City of Sparks is an important example of how local governments can act to ensure technological growth doesn’t come at the expense of environmental stewardship. 

World Food Day is right around the corner! This special day is celebrated annually on October 16 to raise awareness for people struggling with hunger, wherever they may be, and encourages global collaboration in creating a peaceful, sustainable, and food-secure future.

That’s why I want to invite you to take part in our Day of Action. Here are three meaningful actions you can take to help families and children facing hunger:

Join us by:

• Signing up for Prayers to End Hunger
• Telling your member of Congress to make ending hunger a priority, or
• Making a World Food Day gift now

This year’s World Food Day theme is “Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future.” At Bread, we wholeheartedly believe in this message. Hunger is not inevitable — that’s why it makes sense to advocate for good policy decisions that enable everyone to have access to food.

Earlier this year, devastating cuts were made to international food aid and to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) here in the U.S. And right now, we’re in the midst of a government shutdown that is further impacting hunger programs and the ability of families to access the food they need.

These policy challenges will mean that more communities won’t have access to the food and nutrition they need.

But we can change that. When we join together as advocates and urge our elected officials to reject these devastating cuts, they hear us. Together, we can ensure that policies helping people put food on their tables are protected. That’s why I hope you will take action today.

Please join us in our Day of Action! Your generosity, including an early gift in honor of World Food Day, will support our work to advocate for life-saving legislation and help MILLIONS of people worldwide.