Resolved, in response to the Gospel’s moral imperative to see and serve Christ in all people (Matthew 25), the 136th Convention of the Diocese of Southern Ohio supports federal and state budgets that ensure the following principles:

• Food security for all people living in this country, by ensuring that people in poverty have access to sufficient food and nutritional balance to promote the optimal physical and mental development of children and to prevent chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, and
• Ensure that households in poverty do not have to choose between basic human needs, such as housing, health care or food,

and be it further

Resolved, this 136th Convention of the Diocese of Southern Ohio will support:

• Federal and state budgets that sustain funding at the levels needed to provide adequate supplies of emergency food, food stamps and nutrition programs for pregnant women, infants, preschoolers and children – both during and beyond school hours.
• A pragmatic review of state tax policy to identify opportunities to increase revenue during the recession without further burdening households struggling with unemployment, low wages or fixed income,

and be it further

Resolved, this 136th convention opposes cutting funding to one essential human need, such as food, to meet another, such as health care, and be it further

Resolved, this 136th convention authorizes the Social Justice Network to analyze federal and state bills and make advocacy recommendations to the bishop and Diocesan Council on tax and spending proposals, and be it further

Resolved, this 136th convention encourages the bishop, Social Justice Network and congregations of this diocese to advocate for food security of Ohio residents, through an efficient partnership of churches, non-profits, business and the public sector, by combining a sturdy safety net with strategies to help Ohio households achieve self-sufficiency.