March 30, 2016
Staley School of Leadership Studies hosting Community Conversations on hunger and food security
Submitted by Theo Stavropoulos
K-State's work on hunger and food security will be elevated through a universitywide Week of Action April 4-8. In addition to convening hunger fighters from around campus, the week will begin the process of assembling a network of K-Staters involved in addressing food insecurity on our campus, in the Manhattan community, across Kansas, the U.S. and around the world.
Students play a critical role in this work by elevating issues, supporting their fellow students, participating in research endeavors and contributing through direct service and service-learning projects. Which is why, as part of the Week of Action, the Staley School of Leadership Studies will host two Community Conversation events to surface the student voice on food insecurity in the K-State community and create action based around the narratives assembled.
The idea is to bring together diverse perspectives and experiences with hunger and food insecurity. Whether you or someone you know has personally experienced food insecurity, or you have an interest in helping people — locally or globally — attain reliable access to healthy and nutritious food. We need your voice in the conversation.
• Community Conversation day one: 4-5 p.m. April 5 in 123 Leadership Studies Building. The first day will help gather/collect public narrative. Students from LEAD 405 will share the current data that's been gathered on the state of food security at K-State and move into a facilitated dialogue to illicit reactions and bring personal stories and perspectives to the challenges on our campus.
• Community Conversation day two: 4-5 p.m. April 7 in 123 Leadership Studies Building. The second day will focus on building the story of what's next. Many areas of progress on our campus have come about because students have raised issues and helped establish key priorities for action and collaboration among student groups and the university community. How can we utilize the energy from our narratives to create collective action and interventions around the challenges surfaced? Where do your personal story, the story of us and the story of now intersect? What will be K-State's next story in the area of food security?
Though it would be ideal for interested students to attend both events, if you have scheduling conflicts, we would appreciate your participation at either of the conversations. These events will be a great opportunity for students to find areas of interest, passion and connection to the topic and explore the actions and commitments they are willing to make in order to bring progress on this important issue.