2018 Hunger and Health Summit

This session will feature nonprofit professionals with significant experience in volunteer engagement, and the role volunteers play in sustaining and furthering the mission of hunger relief organizations. Attendees will learn from: Catherine Draeger-Pederson, Executive Director of Friedens Community Ministries, about how Friedens, as a “learning organization,” empowers its 2,500+ volunteers to both grow as individuals and serve the community; Rayna Andrews, Sr. Director of Community Engagement & Partnerships, about Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin’s recent Service Enterprise certification process and the fundamentals of volunteer engagement; and Donna Ambrose, Director of Partnerships and Programs for Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin, previously the Executive Director of Caritas Community Resource Center in Beloit, who will share best practices for volunteer training.

School food programs offer lunch options, occasional breakfasts, and if a child is enrolled in the right programs a snack after school, but what happens once the child goes home?  What if you are a college student in school full-time, who does not qualify for FoodShare?  In this session, you will learn about how food pantries and other programs are combatting child hunger from cradle to college age.   Child hunger is evolving and food programs must be ready to evolve with it.  Information shared can be applied to other food pantry and bank models providing insight into best practices, realistic practical solutions, and actionable next steps; improving access and overall health for those using these services.

Our nation wastes about 40% of our entire food production, with much of the loss occurring before food ever reaches a consumer. This food loss costs money and precious resources like land, labor, and water, increases environmental impacts, and could be better utilized. This session will focus on new developments in recovering food surplus across nonprofit, corporate, and governmental sectors in Wisconsin. Attendees will learn about the role of hunger relief efforts in redirecting nutritious, edible, surplus food; the various stakeholders in food waste reduction efforts; the food donation process; and legal considerations around food donations and diversion.

Increased Voter registration and Photo ID laws in Wisconsin have negatively impacted people living in poverty who have difficulty accessing and affording the documentation necessary to vote. Experts project that in Wisconsin alone, 300,000 eligible voters lack the ID necessary to cast a ballot. Successful voter registration and voter ID education involves going to places where people are already present - with food distribution events being an ideal place to engage with voters.  The session will include tactics for implementing all levels of voter education at food pantries and will also provide information on how to assist those who may need extra help getting registered or acquiring an ID including homeless, student, elderly, ex-felon, and low-income voters. 

Access to healthy and affordable food can be a challenge for rural residents, regardless of income level. Due to economic factors such as a low volume of consumers, many rural areas lack food retailers and could be considered food deserts - or areas where there is limited availability of fresh, affordable foods. Rural shoppers may rely on more expensive and less nutritious options, such as those available at a gas station convenience store, or face a long drive to a town with a grocery store that stocks fresh produce, milk, eggs, and other staples. Ironically, the rural areas where food is grown can often be areas where residents have limited access to nutritious food options. Food pantries have been the answer to many of the rural communities suffering from food insecurity. Scattered throughout rural Wisconsin, these food pantries are a result of the community seeing a need to help their residents. But are there other benefits for the community to housing a food pantry? Join this session to learn about the indirect benefits that rural communities receive from their local food pantry’s presence, including being a communication and program hub for the county, screening for other family issues, and a place for local farmers to donate, which increases consumption of fruits and vegetables.