March 23, 2016
A Day of Learning: Food Security Engagement Symposium invitation
There is little question that access to healthy foods is one of the most critical issues facing K-State students, Kansans, and citizens around the world. A 2012 Kansas Hunger Atlas found that more than 11,000 or 16.2 percent of Riley County citizens were food insecure while an estimated 15 percent of all Kansans — or more than 427,000 Kansas citizens — reported that they worried about their family's ability to purchase enough food. A 2014 financial stress campus survey found that nearly one in four K-State students did not have enough money to buy groceries on a regular basis.
K-State's Provost and Senior Vice President April Mason recently wrote, "Access to safe and nutritious food is an issue that affects us all, and it's an area that should unite us and bring together diverse partnerships that transcend sectors and academic disciplines." Read Mason's letter to the campus.
The Day of Learning: A Food Security Engagement Symposium will bring together campus and extension faculty, national thought leaders, and community and state partners to discuss engaged research, teaching and innovative outreach strategies to address food security.
The goal of the symposium is to help us think innovatively and act collaboratively to address the challenges of household food security. The one-day symposium will feature poster presentations and short oral presentations by faculty, staff and community partners. Following the presentations, attendees will engage in guided dialogue about ways to best move forward on the food security issue. We also are featuring keynote presentations from Mason, Robert Egger, president and founder of the L.A. Central Kitchen; and Timothy Eatman, co-executive director for Imagining America.
The Day of Learning will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 4 in the K-State Alumni Center. A registration fee of $25 will apply for faculty, staff and community attendees. For students, the registration fee is $10. One half of the registration fee will go toward campus hunger efforts.
Please join us as we work to address household food security on campus, in Manhattan, and Riley County. Register for the symposium online.