Louisiana Charitable Food Summit seeks solutions through idea sharing, best practices

BATON ROUGE, La. — Nearly 150 attendees focused on solutions to food insecurity throughout the state gathered to share ideas at the Louisiana Charitable Food Summit held May 2 at LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

The event kicked off with a welcome from Matt Lee, vice president for agriculture and dean of the LSU College of Agriculture, who spoke on the importance of the gathering and the uphill battle in providing resources for those most in need.

“We have made strides in food insecurity for Louisianians, but the fact that this room is filled speaks to us about how enormous the problem continues to be,” Lee said. “Our future lies not in standing alone on an island but in working in partnership with organizations throughout this state.”

Following Lee was AgCenter nutrition specialist and registered dietitian Denise Holston, who delivered the keynote address, “Healthy Communities and the Charitable Food System.” She spoke about bringing research to the people in practical ways to improve their daily lives.

“In the AgCenter’s Healthy Communities initiative, we focus on infrastructure, physical activity environments, food access and community development,” she said. “In rural communities or those with a low-income population, inaccessibility to fresh food and vegetables can really hamper one’s ability to prepare healthy meals.”

Holston then introduced AgCenter extension agents from across the state and encouraged attendees to seek them out, saying the agents attempt to identify the strengths and weaknesses in the communities they serve to find the best possible solutions to issues that arise on a local level.

“We may not be able to do it all alone,” Holston said. “But what we’re great at is pulling people together who may not always be used to working with each other.”

Holston then took questions from the crowd before turning over the mic to Karen Shore, of Upstream Strategies LLC, who presented “Key Trends in the U.S. Food System.” Shore spoke of challenges to the food system from a national perspective, addressing both policy and supply chain concerns.

“One of the collective experiences we had during COVID was what it looked like to have empty grocery store shelves,” Shore said. “This began a national awareness into food insecurity that all of us here have been experiencing directly and working to address for a very long time.”

During breaks before the individual breakout sessions, attendees from across the state from both rural and urban communities could be seen speaking with each other and exchanging business cards in an attempt to network and share experiences, both positive and negative.

Randy Williams, from Robinson-Williams Restoration of Hope Community Center in Bastrop, said he and his partner Angelo Robinson purchased the old Carver Elementary School and converted it into a community center in an effort to bring families together and promote healthy habits through a variety of programs.

“The reason I came here today was to network, bring positive changes to our community and to discuss how best to bring fresh fruits and vegetables to our area for healthy eating,” he said.

Ruthie Losavio, communications coordinator for the LSU AgCenter Healthy Communities program, said the Charitable Food Summit represented a gigantic step forward in bringing diverse groups together to improve food security throughout Louisiana.

“I believe this is the first statewide gathering of its kind,” she said. “So we’re extremely excited to bring everyone together during and after the summit to workshop solutions to common challenges that our charitable food partners face.”

Matt Lee.

Matt Lee, vice president for agriculture and dean of the LSU College of Agriculture, speaks to the near-150 gathered to find solutions to food insecurity in the state at the Charitable Food Summit, held May 2 at LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Photo by V. Todd Miller/LSU AgCenter

Karen Shore.

Karen Shore, of Upstream Strategies LLC, speaks to Shundricka Bottley, assistant director of the town of Waterproof, at the Charitable Food Summit held May 2 at LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Photo by Ruthie Losavio/LSU AgCenter

Icebreaker.

Presenter Jenny Yanez, of ICNA Relief USA, speaks with Mike Manning, of the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, during an icebreaker session at the Charitable Food Summit held May 2 at LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Photo by V. Todd Miller/LSU AgCenter

5/11/2023 5:06:49 PM
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