10th Dallas Hunger Summit Calls for a Holistic Approach to Ending Hunger

The Dallas Coalition for Hunger Solutions held its annual education and advocacy conference during Hunger Action Month in September. In its 10th year of informing the public and concerned leaders about the problem of food insecurity and hunger, the focus of the 2021 Dallas Hunger Summit was on ending hunger through a holistic approach. Speakers, panelists and attendees examined how to solve the problem through the lens of our “Top 10 Hunger Solutions”.  

Coalition Chair, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, kicked off the series of three consecutive weekly webinars, the first one featuring a diverse array of strategists and advocates from multiple community sectors. Community leaders in technology, higher education, business, health, faith, nonprofit relief and government discussed going forward together to improve food security. They shared insights gained and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. You can view a video recording  here.

The second week’s webinar presented co-authors of the book, Broke in America: Seeing, Understanding and Ending U. S. Poverty, in conversation about ending poverty to end hunger. These speakers argued that public policies create barriers keeping many of our neighbors trapped in circumstances of poverty when there are concrete steps that can be taken to end poverty for good. Click here for the video recording.

The final webinar highlighted local innovators and practitioners who are applying ethical, equitable and effective solutions for food insecurity, food deserts and food waste around Dallas. Watch the video recording here to learn about the impact they are having in our communities.

Ten years later, work remains to be done in reducing hunger and improving access to healthy food for everyone. The solutions have to include more than just giving hungry people food. As with all complex problems, it is necessary to consider multiple approaches for creating solutions. We’ve learned that we have to work collectively from a holistic point of view. Community leaders must come together to work on innovative steps to improve food security and community health in an all-inclusive way.

You can find recordings of all the webinars from this year’s ending hunger series on YouTube at Dallas Coalition for Hunger Solutions. The 10th Dallas Hunger Summit is a wrap, but the struggle continues!

~Written and contributed to the blog by Wyonella Henderson-Greene, Coalition Specialist, Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty