Third Annual End Hunger Summit Scheduled for September 27

The third annual End Hunger Summit will take on a streamlined new look. The first two summits in 2014 and 2015 were held over a period of two days. The summit will only span a single day this year.  The event is scheduled for Tuesday, September 27, at the Sheraton Albuquerque Uptown 2600 Louisiana Blvd NE, in Albuquerque.

The big difference from the past two summits is that this year's event includes a major effort to engage participants in discussions on the steps to take to address hunger in New Mexico.

"This year we are taking a different approach at the summit by creating a working group in the afternoon of collaboration and discussion on the following subjects of economic well-being, education, family and community and health issues related to poverty and hunger in our state," said Dolores Gonzales, one of the lead organizers of the event.

Several speakers are scheduled for the summit this year, including Anthony Montoya from the Storehouse; Ellen Teller from the Food Research and Action Center in Washington, D.C; Kathy Komoll from the New Mexico Association of Food Banks, Patricia Keane from the Prevention Research Center at the University of New Mexico and others.

Here is the schedule for the day:

8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.  Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.  Plenary session
10:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.  Break w/ Light Snacks
10:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.  Plenary Session Continues
11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  Lunch
1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.   Roundtable Discussions
3:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.  Break w/ Light Snacks
3:15 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Results of Roundtable Discussions

Registration for the summit is $35 ($25 for seniors), including lunch.  Here is the summit Registration Guide, including the registration form on Page 4 (Pre-registration is available until September 9  On-site registration will be available on the day of the conference). For more information contact  Dolores Gonzales,  doloresg@ncnmedd.com or visit the official site for the summit.

As was the case with the past two summits, the main sponsors of the event are the North Central New Mexico Economic Development District, the Non-Metro Area Agency on Aging, and the New Mexico Cares Foundation, Inc.

In my humble opinion, several important agencies are missing from the discussion: the Human Services Department (HSD), the Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD), and the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department, among others.