Fighting Food Insecurity

Photo depicting vegetables harvested at the Dickinson College Farm.

Harvest time at the Dickinson College Farm. Photo by Carl Socolow '77.

Panelists will offer innovative ways to address food insecurity

A panel of local and regional experts will discuss the nature of persistent poverty and food insecurity as well as ways to address these concerns on Thursday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m. in Dickinson’s Anita Tuvin Schlechter (ATS) Auditorium. You also can watch the event live online via livestream.

Panelists will offer innovative ways to address food insecurity, which occurs when people do not have access to regular, healthy and culturally appropriate food sources. They will also examine increased reliance on national and state food-assistance programs. Panelists include Alyssa Feher, director of the Tapestry of Health WIC Program; Risa Waldoks ’12, project manager with The Food Trust’s National Campaign for Healthy Food Access; Robert Weed ’80, interim CEO of Project SHARE; and Becca Raley ’94, executive director of the Partnership for Better Health, who will serve as moderator.

Since 2011, Feher has been responsible for overseeing clinic operations and works frequently with clients needing assistance from multiple agencies. Tapestry of Health WIC serves Cumberland, Perry, Mifflin and Juniata counties.

Waldoks brings together community members, policymakers, public-health and economic-development leaders, grocers, farmers and other partners in her role at The Food Trust’s National Campaign for Healthy Food Access, which is headquartered in Philadelphia.

Weed has nearly 35 years’ experience in the retail banking industry with expertise in leading organizations through cultural and system changes. He leads Carlisle-based Project SHARE, a food pantry nonprofit founded in 1985.

Raley oversees the Partnership for Better Health’s strategic direction and community investments. She also serves as the Carlisle-based organization’s lead spokesperson while cultivating community partnerships and developing new public health initiatives.

The event is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by the Department of Environmental Studies, the Center for Sustainability Education, the food studies program, the Partnership for Better Health and the Churchill Fund. It is also part of the Clarke Forum’s Leadership in an Age of Uncertainty series.

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Published January 26, 2018