2026-27 State Budget Keeps Hunger Funding Intact, Protects Benefits
The 2026-27 $50.8 billion state budget passed July 12, only a week and a half after the deadline, avoiding a repeat of last year's months-long budget impasse. The enacted budget leaves out many sought-after policy changes, but makes strides in several areas, including housing, education, violence prevention, and hunger
2026-27 State Budget Due June 30 — Make Your Voice Heard
The 2026-27 state budget is due at the end of the month (June 30), and negotiations are ongoing. After last year's budget passed more than 130 days late, Pennsylvania lawmakers are hopeful they can avoid a similar delay this year. For LAMPa, hunger is a top budget priority. What happens
Hunger Advocates Carry Concerns to Lawmakers
The Rev. Patricia Neale, Executive Director of Feast of Justice in Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, was part of the Pennsylvania Hunger Action Coalition (PHAC) advocacy day on March 25, sharing with lawmakers the hardships faced by those in her community struggling with rising costs and cutbacks in federal safety net programs.
Governor Releases 10-Year Housing Plan for Pennsylvania; Lawmakers Highlight Bipartisan Approaches
The ELCA social message on homelessness is clear: "Housing is a fundamental human right." Yet for hundreds of thousands of Americans, that right remains out of reach, and Pennsylvania is no exception. On Feb. 12, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Pennsylvania’s first-ever comprehensive Housing Action Plan to address critical housing
PA Human Relations Commission Issues Fair Housing Report
“God heard the cry of a homeless people and delivered them out of oppression in Egypt. Jesus, “who [had] nowhere to lay his head” (Luke 9:58), ministered with compassion to the poor and vulnerable. In practicing hospitality, we are promised to encounter the living Lord: “I was a stranger and
Governor’s Budget Includes Increases for Schools, Replacing Federal Funding
On Feb. 3, Gov. Josh Shapiro unveiled a $53.3 billion state budget proposal that would use emergency funds to boost basic and special education spending in identified underfunded public schools and to help Pennsylvanians affected by recent changes in federal Medicaid and nutrition programs. Check here to track and see
LAMPa Supports Young Voices in Advocacy at Winterfest
More than 200 youth and leaders at Lower Susquehanna Synod's annual winter retreat heard from recent LAMPa racial justice fellow Anna Oslikova about the transformative power of advocacy and then took first steps themselves -- writing postcards to policymakers after packing more than 30,000 meals for hungry neighbors. Oslikova, who
State Budget Passes with Increases for Hunger Funding; Abandons RGGI Participation
On Wednesday, November 12, PA lawmakers passed a $50.1 billion budget after a four-month impasse. The final budget includes increased spending on education, hunger programs, and an earned income tax credit, along with funding for crucial social service programs that have suffered under the combined harm of the budget stalemate
Bishop Curry Issues Pastoral Message for These Troubled Days
November 12, 2025 When I was installed as your presiding bishop, the preacher proclaimed that in times of division, disruption and fear, God calls us, through love, to lift up one another just as Christ lifts us up. I have taken that to heart and been alert to all the
LAMPa Supports Office of New Pennsylvanians
On October 28, LAMPa Director Tracey DePasquale, the Rev. Andrew Berdahl, and Hunger Advocacy Fellow Daniella Garber joined advocates and lawmakers at the Pennsylvania Capitol for a press conference and to witness the House committee’s passage of legislation establishing an Office of New Pennsylvanians. House Bill 1113, introduced by Rep.
