Media Advisory: Second annual Buffalo Food Policy Summit to be held Oct. 23

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The second annual Buffalo Food Policy Summit will be held Oct. 23-24 at the University at Buffalo and the Burchfield Penney Art Center at Buffalo State College.

It will bring together a large group of stakeholders – including the public – to discuss opportunities for sustainable economic development through the Western New York food system, how to improve public school meals and why food policy can be an engine for health, economic growth and social justice in this community and nationally.

Sponsors include the UB School of Architecture and Planning Food Systems Planning and Healthy Community Lab and many other university and community groups, including the Buffalo Public Schools, City of Buffalo, Erie County Department of Health and the UB Civic Engagement and Public Policy Research Initiative. All sponsors are listed here: http://hkhcbuffalo.org/sponsors/.

The summit is free, and five of six events are open to the public. Those attending are asked to RSVP to CEPPrsvp@buffalo.edu or online to http://tinyurl.com/lvofx6n. Refreshments will be provided.

Full program details are available at:  http://hkhcbuffalo.org/2nd-buffalo-food-policy-summit/

Keynote Address: 1:30 p.m., Oct. 23, Harriman Hall, UB South Campus
Julian Agyeman, PhD, professor, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, Tufts University, will discuss the relationship between humans, the environment, social justice and equality in food systems research.

Panel Discussion: Following Agyeman’s speech
Moderator Samina Raja, PhD, associate professor, UB Department of Urban and Regional Planning. Discussants include Heather Orom, assistant professor in the Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, UB School of Public Health and Health Professions; Himanshu Grover, assistant professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, UB School of Architecture and Planning; and Ted Schmidt, associate professor, Department of Economics and Finance, Buffalo State College.

Information Fair and Public Forum 5:30-7:30 p.m., Oct. 23, Burchfield Penney Art Center
Events will include free food, activities for all ages, information about local business and food advocacy organizations, a short play by Road Less Traveled Productions and a short speaking program with local experts and members of the Food Policy Council of Buffalo and Erie County.

Food Systems Planning and Policy Training Workshop, Oct. 24, 2 p.m., 100 Allen Hall, UB South Campus
The workshop will feature UB students and professors, including Raja, director of the UB Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab, who will demonstrate how food systems contribute to the creation of healthy and sustainable communities, and how municipal and regional governments around the United States are using planning and policy tools to strengthen the community food systems.

Screening: “A Place at the Table,” Oct. 24, 6 p.m., 107 Capen Hall, UB North Campus
A powerful film about Americans who maintain their dignity as they struggle to find enough food to eat.