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National food waste and hunger summit coming to IUPUI

For Immediate Release Feb 14, 2018
IUPUI Campus Kitchen student volunteers with trays of food.
IUPUI Campus Kitchen student volunteers prepare food to help combat food insecurity and waste. The students are, from left to right, Lindsey Steiner, Nicole Vandevusse, Michelle Quan Lore’al Avery and Adam Tapper.

INDIANAPOLIS – Leading experts in the fight against food waste and hunger will come together at IUPUI March 24-25 for the fifth annual Food Waste and Hunger Summit, co-hosted by IUPUI and The Campus Kitchens Project, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization empowering young people to fight food waste and hunger. 

The summit brings together students and advocacy groups from across the country who are working to solve food insecurity problems and wasted food in their communities.

It is an opportunity for them to share best practices and encourage others to join the movement. This two-day event will support attendees in unpacking the “triple bottom line” of successful food justice ventures: expanding access to healthy food, creating meaningful careers and testing innovative solutions to the nation’s most systemic failures.

Registration for the event is now open. Indiana University students may attend for free. There is a $35 registration fee for other students and a $75 fee for members of the general public. 

The IU Office of the Bicentennial is a sponsor of the summit.

Confirmed keynote speakers include:

  • Robert Egger, founder of DC Central Kitchen, founder and CEO of LA Kitchen.
  • Michael F. Curtin Jr., CEO of DC Central Kitchen.
  • Pashon Murray, founder and CEO of Detroit Dirt, waste reduction expert, and circular economy advocate.
  • Anna Lappé, founder of Real Food Media, national bestselling author and sustainable food advocate.
  • Marcia Chatelain, associate professor of history and African-American studies at Georgetown University, scholar of race and ethnicity, and food studies specialist.

IUPUI launched its own chapter of the student-led Campus Kitchen in 2014, after participating in The Campus Kitchens Project’s annual launch grant competition in partnership with the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation.

“While progress continues in the fight against hunger, food insecurity remains a top concern across the nation. At IUPUI, we are working with local advocates and taking steps to help students, staff, faculty and the greater Indianapolis community gain access to regular meals through the Campus Kitchen at IUPUI and Paw’s Pantry, a student-run food pantry,” said Camy Broeker, vice chancellor for finance and administration.

“We are honored to host the 2018 Food Waste and Hunger Summit, which is bringing together national and local leaders, partner organizations, students, faculty and staff to share innovations, best practices and sustainable solutions to food waste, hunger and poverty.”

Local and national partner organizations including Feeding America, DC Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry and Second Helpings 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, hunger and poverty on their campuses and in their communities.

On more than 60 university and high school campuses across the country, student volunteers with The Campus Kitchens Project transform unused food from dining halls, grocery stores, restaurants and farmers markets into meals for people experiencing hunger. In the last academic year, Campus Kitchens across the country recovered more than 1.3 million pounds of wasted food and served 350,000 meals.

About The Campus Kitchens Project

Founded in 2001, The Campus Kitchens Project is a national program of DC Central Kitchen that empowers student volunteers to fight hunger and food waste in their community. On over 60 university and high school campuses across the country, students transform unused food from dining halls, grocery stores, restaurants and farmers markets into meals for people experiencing hunger. 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 implements innovative Beyond the Meal programming that uses food as a tool to end systemic poverty. Across the country, local campus kitchens are building community gardens, organizing mobile food pantries, filling backpacks for after-school children’s programs, and educating the public on SNAP benefits and nutrition.

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