ORONO, Maine — The Maine Hunger Dialogue will convene by webinar from 10 a.m. to noon on Friday, Oct. 23. The event is free and open to the public.
With a focus on food and housing insecurities experienced by college students, speakers will address best practices for campuses, discuss the results of a statewide survey on the primary issues and explore food preservation techniques. Participating Maine college students and staff can also apply for $500 grants focused on campus food insecurity.
The Maine Hunger Dialogue began in 2014. It grew out of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Maine Harvest for Hunger program which, since 2000, has donated 3,083,638 pounds of surplus fruits and vegetables to people, soup kitchens, food pantries and shelters in the state.
“The goal of the Maine Hunger Dialogue is to inspire students from the state’s public and private universities and colleges, including community colleges, to learn, share ideas, network and work together to fight hunger across Maine,” says Frank Wertheim, an associate extension professor of agriculture/horticulture.
Registration is required for the free webinar. Register on the event webpage at https://extension.umaine.edu/hunger-dialogue/. The Maine Hunger Dialogue will be recorded for those who cannot participate live. The event is sponsored by UMaine Extension, University of Maine at Presque Isle, the University of Maine System, Husson University, and Maine Campus Compact.
As a trusted resource for over 100 years, University of Maine Cooperative Extension has supported UMaine’s land and sea grant public education role by conducting community-driven, research-based programs in every Maine county. UMaine Extension helps support, sustain and grow the food-based economy. It is the only entity in our state that touches every aspect of the Maine Food System, where policy, research, production, processing, commerce, nutrition and food security and safety are integral and interrelated. UMaine Extension also conducts the most successful out-of-school youth educational program in Maine through 4-H.
