Join us for a virtual summit November 16-20th 2020 for those fighting hunger and food insecurity in West Virginia

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday will feature general sessions, and Wednesday will feature skill-building workshops.

All sessions will be held over ZOOM. Register for the event on our Eventbrite page for access to full agenda with ZOOM links and further instructions.

Agenda

Monday, November 16th

10:00AM - 11:30AM

Beginning to End Hunger: Policy, Institutions and Democracy in the Food System: led by Josh Lohnes with Dr. Jahi Chappel & Dr. Garrett Grady-Loveless

The laws, regulations and institutions that shape food access and nutrition policy are complex yet remain open to both progressive reform and radical transformation. In this keynote session, two scholar-activists at the forefront of the global movement for food sovereignty engage with the West Virginia Food for All Coalition to discuss representative democracy in the food system and the critical role that social movements and policy makers and advocates can play in reshaping the social contract between food producers and consumers to advance the right to food.

Tuesday, November 17th

10:00AM - 11:30AM

Race and Food Access Roundtable: led by Josh Lohnes with Dr. Lauri Andres, Dr. Shanequa Smith, Delegate Danielle Walker, and Dr. Elisa Minoff

Communities of color are disproportionately affected by food insecurity and face barriers to food access rooted in histories of racial injustice. This roundtable discussion will focus on the intersection between policy, race and food access. We will reflect on the racist roots of work requirement tied to public assistance programs and center the voices of community leaders working to advance social justice and racial equity across West Virginia.

Wednesday, November 18th

9:30AM - 10:30AM

How to get the most out of meetings with your lawmakers, a skill building session with members of the WV State Legislature: led by Seth Distefano with Delegate Sammi Brown, Delegate Mark Dean, and Delegate Chad Lovejoy

Join House Hunger Caucus founding member Delegate Chad Lovejoy for an informative session on what makes for a good meeting with your members of the State Legislature. Topics will include what makes for a productive meeting, how to get time during the pandemic and an interactive Q & A session with attendees.

11:00AM - 12:00PM
Building Relationships to Get to the Champion’s Ring: led by Spencer Moss with Councilmember Rosemary Ketchem, Mayor Dr. Anne Cavalier, Delegate Amanda Estep Burton, and Senator J.R. Pitsenbarger

Have you ever needed a champion for your cause — food security, installation of a stop sign, funding for a project? Whatever your cause, when it comes to making policy change, every issues has a champion, and many times those champions rise up out of a relationship. Join a local mayor, city councilmember, a state delegate, and state senator for a panel discussion about what it takes to make relationships with elected officials.

1:00PM - 2:00PM

Skills-Building Workshop: Strategies for Successful Social Media Advocacy: led by Renee Alves with Carling McManus and Hannah Sawyer

Join us for an hour-long session centered on strategies to set your social media advocacy efforts up for success. The session will begin with a brief presentation by Carling McManus of 84 Agency, a Charleston-based communications and consulting firm, to discuss strategies for crafting language that will resonate with constituents and policymakers. Carling’s expertise will be paired with that of Hannah Sawyer, the State Communications Manager of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ Safety Net Initiative, who will present on strategies and tools we can use to release our carefully crafted language on social media in ways that will land effectively and move our audiences to action. Presentations will be followed with time for Q&A.

2:30PM - 3:30PM

Working with Government Agencies to Affect Change in Policies and Programs: led by Kristin McCartney with Jackie Hoppee, Amanda Harrison, and Norm Bailey

Have you ever wondered what it would take to get a government agency to change the way they do something? Did you know that the employees at government agencies want programs and policies to work for the people that they serve? Join this interactive panel with guests from the WV Department of Agriculture, Education, and Health and Human Resources as they explore instances of working with organizations and communities to affect change.

4:00PM - 5:00PM

Policy Advocacy How-To: led by Liz Brunello, Rick Wilson, and Lida Shepherd

How can we be as effective as possible getting good policy passed and also stopping bad policy? It doesn’t have to be guess-work: When the problem, politics and policy streams align, a window of opportunity opens!

Thursday, November 19th

10:00AM - 11:30AM

No Hungry Child Left Behind with Jenny Anderson and Cyndi Kirkhart

The COVID-19 pandemic has been good for exactly one thing — showing the holes in our food systems. Food pantries, nonprofits, and schools have been left scrambling to figure our how they will feed their communities. In all of this, several counties have worked to develop feeding plans that fit their communities. Join this panel discussion as members of the Cabell County school system discuss the decisions that they’ve made — successes and failures — regarding feeding their kids.

Friday, November 20th

10:00AM - 11:30AM

Leading With The Truth: with Amy Jo Hutchinson

Join us for a panel discussion with the people this work is about. Meet mothers from across our state who know what food insecurity and food access mean because they've struggled with it. Real talk. Real honest. Real life. Real leaders.

Presenters & Panelists

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Dr. Joshua Lohnes

Dr. Joshua Lohnes studies the moral, political and economic place of food in the wider economy. He directs the work of the Food Justice Lab in the WVU Center for Resilient Communities developing action research projects through data sharing tools, planning resources and educational programming that supports the development of food policy and anti-hunger coalitions in West Virginia and beyond.

Dr. Jahi Chapell

Dr. Jahi Chapell works to build participatory, socially just, and ecologically sustainable agri-food systems that center the voices and needs of farmers and eaters rather than corporations and capital. He is the author of the award-winning book Beginning to End Hunger: Food and the Environment in Belo Horizonte, Brazil and Beyond which highlights breakthroughs in radically reducing hunger while supporting small-scale farmers.

Dr. Garrett Graddy-Lovelace

Dr. Garrett Graddy-Lovelace researches and teaches agricultural policy and agrarian politics at American University's School of International Service in Washington, D.C. She draws upon community-partnered action research to further her work on the domestic and international impacts of US agricultural policy. A geographer and political ecologist, she has a forthcoming book The Power of Seeds & the Politics of Agricultural Biodiversity.

Dr. Shanequa Smith

Dr. Shanequa Smith is a community organizer and restorative justice practitioner working to create healing and learning opportunities for marginalized people through relational listening practices.

Dr. Lauri Andress

Dr. Lauri Andress is assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy, Management and Leadership in the WVU School of Public Health. She researches infrastructure issues in West Virginia rural communities with a focus on barriers to population health, including transportation and food access for low-income women, children, the homeless and seniors.

Dr. Elisa Minoff

Dr. Elisa Minoff works to advance equitable policies that promote economic security and well-being for all families. Her research analyzes the roots of existing racial and economic inequities and develops policy solutions to redress these inequities and meet the needs of families of color, immigrant families and families with low incomes.

Delegate Danielle Walker

Delegate Danielle Walker represents West Virginia’s 51st district. She has lived in West Virginia for ten years raising her two sons, taking care of her mother, and breaking barriers in many communities. She has never met a stranger without pouring her first message of One Love, a message of unity, inclusion and progress. Despite being a widow, mother of two disabled kids, community advocate, volunteer, and mother of the movement, she will always exclaim “Words without Works are a Waste”. Let’s celebrate our works and worth.

Seth DiStefano

Seth DiStefano, Policy Outreach Director for the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. Seth is a native of Randolph County and graduate of West Virginia University. He has over a decade of experience with government affairs. Most recently, he was the lead lobbyist on Senate Bill 648 which expanded dental coverage to adults over 21 on Medicaid.

Sammi Brown

Delegate Sammi Brown is a community organizer representing the 65th House District in Jefferson County, WV. She holds a Masters in Business Administration from Shepherd University and serves on the board of directors for West Virginia Citizen Action Group. Delegate Brown has championed several bills to improve circumstances for West Virginians struggling with poverty including the first fair workweek bill introduced in state history.

Mark Dean

Delegate Mark Dean represents the heart of West Virginia's Southern Coalfields. His district includes parts of Mingo, Wyoming, and McDowell Counties. An educator and principal for several years, Delegate Dean has a unique perspective on how hunger impacts children.

Chad Lovejoy

Delegate Chad Lovejoy is the founding member of the Hunger Caucus in the House of Delegates. He is a graduate of West Virginia University College of Law and serves on the board of the Huntington City Mission. Delegate Lovejoy has championed multiple bills to address hunger including the farm to food bank tax credit and Summer Food for All bill

Rosemary Ketchum

Rosemary Ketchum is a member of the City Council of Wheeling, West Virginia representing Ward 3. She is also Associate Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Greater Wheeling Drop-in Center and on the boards of several organizations including the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. She has served as a guest on MSNBC and the TODAY show and has been profiled by several publications including Time Magazine, CBS, and CNN for her work in community organizing and politics.

Delegate Amanda Estep-Burton

Amanda Estep-Burton was first elected to serve the 36th District of the West Virginia House of Delegates in 2018. Before her campaign bid, she was not active in politics but our nation’s political discourse and bickering prompted her to act and run for office. Amanda wants her kids and others to have a future in the state she loves and our neighbors to work together for a better West Virginia regardless of political views. Amanda works as a commercial banker for Truist - formerly BB&T - where she has been a teammate for 12 years. She is the proud mother of four and a life-long West Virginian from Poca. During the 84th Legislature she served as minority chair of banking and on the education and health committees.

Spencer Moss

Spencer Moss is the executive director of the West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition and has been with the coalition since 2015. During her time at the Coalition, she has ushered in programming and policy work that support food security and food access in West Virginia Communities. Programming includes creating SNAP Stretch, a program that doubles and triples SNAP/EBT dollars at farmers markets and local retailers and the WV Rural Grocers Network which has helped provide funding and technical assistance support to nascent grocers as they establish themselves in rural communities. Spencer holds a BS in Communications from Missouri Western State University and a Masters in Public Administration with an emphasis in Local Governance and Community Development from West Virginia University.

Dr. Mayor Anne Cavalier

After multiple professional careers and happy retirements, Anne is the current Mayor of the City of Smithers in Fayette County WV, what she calls ‘the heart of Almost Heaven’. She has an earned doctorate from Virginia Tech where she focused on finance and human resource management.