Stanley Carlson-Thies is founder and senior director of the Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance, which has called for a “Fairness for All” approach to religious freedom and LGBTQ rights. He previously worked on faith-based initiatives for the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.

A Feb. 19, 2010, post by Cornell law professor Steven H. Shiffrin at the ReligiousLeftLaw blog argues that liberals should give religious groups more leeway in obtaining federal funding, in part because social service faith groups have been receiving such funds for more than 70 years with few problems.

Rabbi Jonathan Klein is executive director of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, an interfaith group from the Los Angeles area that advocates on behalf of the working poor.

Michael Schut is the Seattle-based author of Food & Faith: Justice, Joy and Daily Bread. He leads retreats on the topics of spirituality, sustainability and eco-justice.

Created by the state Legislature in 1989, the Oregon Hunger Relief Task Force promotes awareness, compiles research and works on public policy change. One in six Oregonians – a record number – received SNAP (food stamp) benefits in June 2009. Oregon Faith Roundtable Against Hunger is a partner organization. Contact Simone Crowe, communications director.

Food Lifeline in Seattle is Washington state’s largest hunger relief agency. It has statistics on the people it serves. Mark Coleman is communications director.

Tamera Zivic is executive director of the World Hunger Education, Advocacy & Training (WHEAT) Organization in Phoenix, which works with 5,300 congregations in Arizona. She is a member of the national board of Bread for the World.

Donald E. Messer is a co-author of Ending Hunger Now. A United Methodist theologian, he is now executive director of the Center for Church and Global AIDS, which is based in Centennial, Colo.

The Houston Food Bank is dedicated to feeding those without sufficient food in the Houston area. The media relations contact is Adele Brady.