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(03/17/23) BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU AgCenter Healthy Communities is hosting the first statewide charitable food summit on May 2 at LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Conference Center in Baton Rouge.
“Our goal is to bring together stakeholders from across Louisiana’s charitable food system to learn, network and share best practices,” said Makenzie Miller, LSU AgCenter local food systems specialist. “We want participants to walk away with resources and actionable steps for improving their clients’ experiences.”
Louisiana has some of the highest food insecurity and obesity rates in the country. More than 1 in 4 children in Louisiana are food insecure, and half of households receiving SNAP benefits include at least one child, according to Feeding Louisiana.
“I think this is an amazing opportunity for all of us involved in the fight to end food insecurity to gather and brainstorm,” said Jamie Richardson, executive director of the Community Center of St. Bernard. “We all have so many different battles, experiences and networks we can share. This is truly a unique chance to gather and support each other.”
The summit will feature general sessions, breakout sessions, discussions and a resource fair. Attendees will have the opportunity to join quarterly calls after the summit.
The event is free to attend, and breakfast, lunch and refreshments will be provided. Interested parties can register at https://bit.ly/lacfs23.
The summit will be hosted by LSU AgCenter Healthy Communities with support from organizations including Feeding Louisiana, Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana, Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana, Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, Northshore Food Bank, Care Help of Sulphur, ICNA Relief, Humana and the Community Center of St. Bernard.
LSU AgCenter Healthy Communities is an initiative that makes Louisiana towns healthier places to live, work, learn and play by inviting local residents to identify important issues and work together to come up with possible solutions. The program focuses on increasing access to healthy, affordable food and ensuring physical activity is safe, accessible and fun for all.
For more information about the Louisiana Charitable Food Summit, contact Miller at makenziemiller@agcenter.lsu.eduor 225-578-4565.
Woman loading a grocery basket at Lena’s Closet Food Pantry in St. Helena Parish. Lena’s Closet is the first parishwide school food pantry in the state and features nutrition and food safety guidelines thanks to LSU AgCenter nutrition agent Marquetta Anderson. Photo by Ruthie Losavio/LSU AgCenter
