The 2010 World Food Prize Winner, Reverend David Beckmann, gave a lecture on faith, politics and poverty last Wednesday in Hubbell Hall. Nearly fifty students, staff members and community members attended the talk.
Beckmann has had an extensive career in fighting hunger and preaching Christianity nationally and worldwide.
Beckmann’s lecture focused on the damage hunger causes to individuals and how community members, students and staff, can help combat the issue. He also talked about how poverty in America is the fourth leading cause of death.
“What motivates me is that poverty is a solvable problem,” Beckmann said.
He grew up in Nebraska, and after connecting with people who weren’t as fortunate, decided to involve himself and his career in tackling hunger. After graduating from Yale and earning a master’s degree from the Lutheran School of Theology and the London School of Economics, Beckmann began his career.
From 1976 to 1991, Beckman worked as an economist for the World Bank and devised ways to increase aid to those affected by poverty in its global and national projects. Before Beckman arrived at the World Bank, they had only worked with other government organizations. In his final years there, Beckman helped them connect with non-governmental organizations to further the cause.
Then Beckmann became the president of Bread for the World, an organization which helped churches lobby members of Congress to end hunger in the country, from 1991 to 2019.
Beckmann provided details about how the current administration is not effectively addressing hunger and poverty levels. Other factors, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing wars and environmental changes, have also contributed to poverty and hunger. He also mentioned how the firings and current government shutdown have drastically affected the people who suffer from this issue.
Though hunger appears to be a large problem, Beckmann pointed out it has been addressed and reduced in the past. He provided statistical evidence on how, in the 1960s, four out of ten American families were impoverished; through addressing the issue, however, the number dropped to one out of ten by 2024.
Mara Bailey, Simpson College’s chaplain, was one of the lecture attendees. She spoke on food insecurity and poverty.
“Part of the voice he brought today was the strong history of how we have been able to make progress on issues like poverty and food insecurity, and how, whether that has been mobilizing faith communities or organizations like he as been a part of to really be clear about you the issue itself is not political in a sense, or a certain party’s issue, it’s our communities issues,” Bailey said. “It affects so many people, and one of the roles of a democratic government, of a democracy, is to provide that kind of social network of care.”
Allison Sigaran-Serpas, a junior majoring in political science and international relations with a minor in legal studies, and a Culver Fellow, attended the lecture.
“That number from before of four out of ten families being impoverished to being now one out of ten is pretty amazing,” she said. ”Now seeing that stagnate and such, I think we have to go back…to those old sorts of methods and revamp those methods to move our politics and government to again to put focus back onto poverty so we can continue moving forward.”
He also suggested students, staff and community members to help through a direct approach by volunteering at food pantries or finding jobs in organizations fighting hunger.
Another approach was through legislative advocacy, where representatives can call members of Congress and local officials to press for a solution to this matter.
His most important piece of advice, however, was for people to get involved in the electoral process. Beckmann said voters have the power to elect people who can make change. He advised registering to vote and selecting a candidate who aligns with an individual’s values.
“You will learn things that will make you a better citizen for the rest of your life,” he said.
