University of Arkansas to Host 2009 World Food Day

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Applied Sustainability Center at the University of Arkansas will host a 2009 World Food Day teleconference and faculty presentation from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16. The event, which is open to the public, will be held in the First Security Auditorium at Willard J. Walker Hall in the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

In addition, in honor of World Food Day, the University of Arkansas is sponsoring its second annual canned food drive to which the public is encouraged to donate. The results of this effort, which began Sept. 19, will be announced at the beginning of the teleconference.

The theme of the teleconference is “Global Food Crisis: Opportunities, Responsibilities, and Solutions.” During the live teleconference, a panel of experts will discuss the burden of the economic downturn on the world’s poor and what can be done about it. Panelists include Max Finberg, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships; U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, co-chair of the National Hunger Caucus; and Joy Phumaphi, World Bank vice president and head of the bank’s Human Development Network. The panel discussion will take place from 11 a.m. to noon.

At noon, Steve Boss, associate professor in environmental dynamics in the department of geology in the J. Williams Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, will discuss “A World Caloric Intake.” A Langar lunch will be provided. Langar, which literally means “free kitchen,” is a Sikh tradition for feeding the hungry. Every Sikh temple throughout the world has a Langar, but the Sikh soup kitchen differs from a traditional American soup kitchen.

Michele Halsell, director of the Applied Sustainability Center, said, “The Langar is open to everyone. Volunteering in the cooking, serving and cleaning process is considered a form of active spiritual practice for devotees, but the service provided by the temple requires no religious obligations from its recipients. The spirit of inclusion and equality is reinforced by the kitchen’s adherence to vegetarianism, not because Sikhs are vegetarian, but because others who visit may be, and by serving no meat, they exclude nobody.”

In addition to participating in the teleconference, the public is encouraged to support the University of Arkansas canned-food drive. Drop-off locations include all Fayetteville fire stations; chambers of commerce in Fayetteville, Bentonville, Springdale, and Rogers; the University of Arkansas Bookstore; and Marvin’s IGA. Collected food items will be donated to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, formerly Ozark Food Bank, for distribution to hungry families in Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington counties. A complete list of drop-off locations may be found here http://dailyheadlines.uark.edu/15705.htm/.

Additionally a room at the Global Campus locations in both Fayetteville and Rogers will be open to the public for viewing the teleconference from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Oct. 16.