Manny Pacquiao, the professional boxer with 39 knockouts over his career, ran for president of the Philippines in 2022. His reason? “I hate politicians. I hate politics. But if I start to go into politics, I think I believe that I can serve more, I can help more people.”
Elected officials need information about the changes that will bring about the most prosperity for their districts, but they need it from the people who live and work in their districts.
Despite all the political and economic challenges the Philippines faced, he wanted to be actively involved because of the potential for change it represented. And this was from a guy who had a physically grueling job to begin with.
I admire that perspective and thought it was important to share, especially in a time when people in the United States talk a lot about how much they dislike politics and political infighting between the two major parties and the factions within those parties. Why does this matter to the food bank? Because I believe it may keep people from getting more involved in the advocacy work we do.
Elected officials need good information about the changes that will bring about the most prosperity for their districts. They can get that from the Houston Food Bank’s Government Relations team, but they need it from the people who live and work in their districts. And they need it regardless of whether you align with the same political party they do.
I recently traveled to Washington DC to discuss the Farm Bill with Houston Food Bank’s congressional delegation. We talked about the economic impact of SNAP, the strong relationship between farmers and food banks, and food insecurity among seniors. I visited with folks on both sides of the aisle and had productive conversations.
I can’t predict what our delegation will ultimately support in the Farm Bill or in the state legislature. But, I know that without good information, they won’t be able to make the best decisions. And I know they need to hear directly from the people they represent. We have an easy way for you to do just that. Visit our Action Center at www.houstonfoodbank.org/actioncenter.
Katherine Byers, Ph.D.
Government Relations Officer