Today and in coming days Congress is debating cuts to life-saving foreign aid, and Oxfam volunteer leaders are delivering petitions to save foreign aid to Senate offices along with an unusual twist: sweet potatoes. Why sweet potatoes? Because this Thanksgiving staple is also a feature of aid programs that boost nutrition in Africa.
A special orange-fleshed variety (conventionally bred) is rich in vitamin-A and drought resistant. Promoting it in place of less-nutritious varieties in communities in Africa has helped boost immune systems, prevent blindness, and improve livelihoods for growers. (A keen-eyed foodie will know that those pictured above are actually yams doing their best sweet potato impression.)
But this noble root is just one out of hundreds of such simple, cost-effective projects that are saving lives and livelihoods around the world - and funded by US foreign aid programs like Feed the Future!
So before scooping brown sugar, pineapple, and marshmallow on top of yours, grab a few extra and get in touch with Oxfam community leaders in your area. Join them in delivering this letter to your Senators along with a petition signed by more than 20,000 people nationwide.
Happy Thanksgiving, all!
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