The goal of the program is to create and expand grassroots partnerships that build and expand local food systems and reduce hunger. Recently, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman appointed Linda Drake, a cooperative extension specialist in nutritional sciences at the University of Connecticut, as the community ood security liaison for the state. The range of underlying issues is broad and includes skyrocketing farming costs, deficient education, environmental pollution, welfare reform, changes in economic conditions, poor nutritional choices, and lack of knowledge about food stamp eligibility. A major goal of the eam is to make the public and the academic community aware of the need for increased education, public outreach and research focused on food security issues. Among the invited guests are UConn faculty, state legislators, and members of several community groups.
Drake says they're all potential players in establishing food security in the state.
She hopes the opportunity to network at the seminar will help them discover the interconnectedness of what each can do to overcome the issues. According to Drake, much can be done on campus to battle the problems. Participation from faculty could take the form of research on issues, basic policy analysis, or building discussions about food security issues into curriculum, she says. Gov. John G. Rowland has signed on to the USDA initiative and has committed the state to the goal of attaining food security for every Connecticut household by the year 2010.