Kansas State University

World hunger and what to do about it focus of Feb. 19 Lou Douglas Lecture

Submitted by Communications and Marketing

Rick McNary is dedicated to fighting world hunger. The photographer and writer will be the spring 2013 speaker for UFM Community Learning Center's Lou Douglas Lecture Series at Kansas State University.

McNary will present "Three Keys to Solving Global Hunger" at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19, in the K-State Student Union Ballroom.

While leading a mission trip to Central America as a pastor, McNary became aware of the severity of world hunger when a starving girl asked him to feed her. Since that time he has dedicated himself to fighting world hunger and recruiting volunteers. His free e-book, "Hunger Bites," introduces the reader to 10 people who have inspired him to keep his promise to the starving little girl to fight global hunger.

McNary is also the vice president of strategic partnerships relationships for Outreach Incorporated, a liaison for Universities Fighting World Hunger of Auburn University for the Universities Fighting World Hunger Summit 2013, and treasurer of the executive board for the Alliance to End Hunger in Washington, D.C.

Additional events complementing the lecture include:

• "Hunger: A Community Conversation that Matters" is from 1:30-4:30 p.m. Feb. 19 in the K-State Student Union's Flint Hills Room. Facilitated by the university's Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy, the dialogue will bring together a variety of individuals and organizations in the Manhattan area committed to eliminating hunger. For information about the community dialogue, contact Myles Alexander at mylesks@k-state.edu, or Chandra Ruthstrom at chandra@k-state.edu.

• A meal packaging event in the K-State Student Union Ballroom immediately following McNary's lecture will benefit the Flint Hills Breadbasket in Manhattan. Coordinated by the Nonprofit Leadership Student Association in the School of Leadership Studies, 50 volunteers will package 5,000 meals. The recipe is formulated by Outreach Inc. to be delicious and nutritious. For more information about the event, contact Morgan Peelen at mpeelen@k-state.edu.

• "Reflections of the World's Largest Refugee Camp in Dedaab, Kenya," a collection of McNary's photographs of a refugee camp with more than 500,000 people that is 50 miles from the Kenyan border with Somalia, will be displayed in the K-State Student Union second floor concourse from Feb. 18 to March 3. McNary captures the images and tells the story of the horror and the hope of the international conundrum of the refugee crisis in the Horn of Africa. This exhibit gives voice to the issues and strategies of humanitarian agencies that serve to mitigate the crisis. For more information about the lecture or photo exhibit, contact Olivia Collins at ocollins@k-state.edu.

The Lou Douglas Lecture Series is dedicated to Lou Douglas, a distinguished professor of political science at Kansas State University from 1949 until 1977. Widely known for his power to inspire students, faculty, staff and citizens to instigate change, Douglas was one of the founders of UFM Community Learning Center. After his death in 1979, UFM began the lecture series to honor him. More information is available at www.tryufm.org.