U of A to Co-Host National Food Waste & Hunger Summit

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Leading experts on the fight against hunger will be in Fayetteville this spring, thanks to the efforts of a University of Arkansas student volunteer group. The third annual Food Waste & Hunger Summit will be held in the Arkansas Union at the University of Arkansas Saturday and Sunday, April 16-17. Registration for the event is now open. The fee to attend is $35.

The student volunteer Campus Hunger Initiative, a part of the U of A Center for Community Engagement, will co-host the Summit with The Campus Kitchens Project, which launched the Food Waste & Hunger Summit in 2014. The Campus Kitchens Project is the leading national nonprofit empowering students to fight hunger and food waste

The summit brings together students and advocacy groups from across the country who are working to solve food insecurity problems in their communities. It is an opportunity for them to share what they’ve learned and encourage others to join the battle against hunger and food waste.

Speakers scheduled for the Summit include:

• Tom Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
• Rebecca Vallas, policy director for the Poverty to Prosperity Program at the Center for American Progress
• Robert Egger, president and founder of L.A. Kitchen.

Local and national partner organizations including the Alliance to End Hunger, D.C. Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry and Universities Fighting World Hunger will join the discussion along with as many as 250 student leaders from around the nation who are leading the fight to reduce food waste and hunger on their campuses and in their communities.

The U of A Campus Hunger Initiative operates the Jane B. Gearhart Full Circle Food Pantry and the Razorback Food Recovery program at the university.

“We are very excited that the University of Arkansas has been chosen as the site for this event,” said Claire Allison, coordinator of the Campus Hunger Initiative. “The university community – and the Northwest Arkansas community as a whole – are both passionate about the fight to eliminate food insecurity while reducing food waste. The Food Waste & Hunger Summit will be a great opportunity to share what we’ve learned – and to learn from people around the country who have been involved in this battle for many years.”

Student volunteers with The Campus Kitchens Project on more than 50 university and high school campuses across the country work to transform unused food from dining halls, grocery stores, restaurants, and farmers’ markets into meals that are delivered to local agencies serving those in need.

In the last academic year, Campus Kitchens programs recovered 987,221 pounds of wasted food and served 319,104 meals. Student volunteers with the national organization also work to promote sustainable solutions to address hunger and food insecurity in their communities.

“We chose the University of Arkansas as the site for the third annual Food Waste & Hunger Summit because of the incredible work they have done through their Campus Hunger Initiative, which is unaffiliated with our own organization,” said Laura Toscano, director of The Campus Kitchens Project. “We are committed to fostering continued innovation through collaboration with others working in the field, especially as this Summit has grown into a conversation that includes all the leading national nonprofits addressing these interrelated issues of food waste and hunger."

The Campus Hunger Initiative is able to co-host the summit thanks to a $225,000 grant from Tyson Foods Inc. The grant provided funding for both the Food Pantry and the Food Recovery program, but also encouraged the group to host a national conference on campus-based food programs.

“Our students attended the first and second Food Waste & Hunger Summit, and they were both outstanding learning experiences for all involved,” said Angela Oxford, director of the Center for Community Engagement. “It was exactly the kind of program we felt would benefit both the campus and the broader Northwest Arkansas communities and soon after we received the Tyson grant our students started writing a proposal to bring this year’s summit to the U of A.”

Updated information about the Food Waste & Hunger Summit is available at The Campus Kitchens Project website.

About The Campus Kitchens Project: The Campus Kitchens Project is a national organization, founded in 2001, that empowers student volunteers to fight hunger and food waste in their community. On over 50 university and high school campuses across the country, students transform unused food from dining halls, grocery stores, restaurants, and farmers’ markets into meals that are delivered to local agencies serving those in need. By taking the initiative to run a community kitchen, students develop entrepreneurial and leadership skills, along with a commitment to serve their community, that they will carry with them into future careers. Each Campus Kitchen goes beyond meals by using food as a tool to promote poverty solutions, implement garden initiatives, participate in nutrition education, and convene food policy events. More information is available on the website.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.