Hungry for change: How to Reinvent Food Banks and Pantries

Although food banks and pantries have distributed billions of pounds of food for decades, food insecurity remains a persistent public health problem. COVID-19 has exposed structural inequalities and systemic injustices that make it hard for people to afford enough to eat. During the pandemic, food banks and pantries have adjusted to serve more people in creative ways. What lessons have we learned? How do we emerge stronger to reinvent the way we tackle the problem of hunger?

Katie Martin, author of Reinventing Food Banks and Pantries: New Tools to End Hunger, says we need to shift our attention to building empathy, equity, and political will. By shifting away from short-term transactions of food, we can implement real solutions and change the landscape of entire communities. But how do we do that?
 
In this webinar, Martin will talk about how food banks and pantries respond to food insecurity, and how they can partner with other community organizations and universities to implement best practices to achieve success backed by scientific research. She will be joined by Chris Costanzo, Founder and Editor of Food Bank News, who will moderate our discussion. Another guest will join to talk about the successes and challenges they’ve faced at their organization.