Updated Feb. 11, 2011
Gustavus Adolphus College, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, and Feed My Starving Children are collaborating to organize a large-scale food security awareness event Feb. 12-13.
Titled “Good Food for All: A Food Security Event Building Solidarity through Education, Action, and Advocacy,” the weekend event will feature speakers and educational activities, a concert, a film festival, and a volunteer effort that will include the packing of 250,000 meals for people in need.
Some 1,200 volunteers will work in shifts of 2 hours and 30 minutes on Saturday, Feb. 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 13 from 12 to 5:30 p.m. The 250,000 meals will be funded by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and packed and distributed with assistance and guidance from the nonprofit organization Feed My Starving Children.
All activities associated with this event are free and open to the public. For more information, go online to gustavus.edu/events/food.
“We think this event will give people the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the conditions that precipitate and perpetuate food insecurity locally and globally and to consider alternative models for promoting food security, from emergency food relief to sustainable development,” said Gustavus sophomore Beth Schmidt.
Schmidt has taken a leadership role in organizing the “Good Food for All” event as part of her final project for her Public Discourse class within the Communication Studies department.
Lectures and educational activities will take place throughout the day from UNICEF, Minnesota FoodShare, Center for Earth Spirituality, ELCA World Hunger, Bread for the World, and Second Harvest Food Shelf. Lectures, educational activities, the film festival, and the volunteer food packing efforts will take place in various locations in the C. Charles Jackson Campus Center.
The Good Food for All Concert will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 11 in Alumni Hall, located in the upper level of the O.J. Johnson Student Union. The concert will feature Stefan Van Voorst, an alternative-style musician who encourages listeners to be aware of social issues and to deepen their faith. The concert is sponsored by Proclaim and the Office of Church Relations.
Click here to read more about Feed My Starving Children.
Click here to read more about Programs and Outreach offered by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.
For more information about activities associated with the Good Food for All event, go online to gustavus.edu/events/food. You can also contact Schmidt at eschmid4@gustavus.edu or Assistant to the President for Special Projects Barb Larson Taylor at btaylor@gustavus.edu.
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