RETHINKING HUNGER — Dr. Katie Martin, pictured here, has worked for 25 years to bring attention to food insecurity. Through her education, writing and consulting, Martin’s goal is to get people to rethink why hunger is a problem and how to tackle it. She is the author of the book Reinventing Food Banks and Pantries: New Tools to End Hunger.
Stetson University aims to bring more attention to food insecurity in Volusia County with a lecture that is open to the public Jan. 31. The lecture, featuring Dr. Katie Martin, a nationally-recognized speaker and author in the field of hunger, is part of a larger food insecurity initiative from the university.
According to state data, Volusia County has one of the highest rates of food insecurity in Central Florida. Roughly 11.3 percent of the county’s population does not have consistent access to the food they need to live a happy, healthy life. With that in mind, Stetson faculty are bringing partner organizations together to devise solutions for hunger in our backyard.
Stetson University professor Dr. Robert Maglievaz has led the charge in planning a food insecurity summit and the events surrounding it. He hopes the events will bring more attention to food insecurity.
It’s a complex issue, he said, and it’s one that people often get wrong.
There’s a public perception that people who go to food pantries are homeless or are going to starve to death,” Maglievaz said. “Most of the people work full time jobs.”
Because, he said, when costs are rising across the board, and your rent, utilities and other bills are more expensive, food costs are one of the places where people are able to reduce their spending. But that often comes at the expense of their health, Maglievaz said.
Martin’s lecture, titled Reinventing How We Tackle Hunger, will begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31, in the Stetson Room, room 230 on the second floor of the Carlton Union Building, 131 E. Minnesota Ave., on Stetson University’s campus. The lecture is free and the public is invited.
Earlier that day, on Stetson’s campus, representatives from organizations like The Neighborhood Center, AdventHealth, Second Harvest Food Bank and others will meet as part of the university’s Food Insecurity Summit to strategize about how to fight hunger in Volusia County. Maglievaz’s hope, he said, is to form a strong coalition to combat food insecurity as a “chronic issue” locally.
