On Wednesday, September 29, 2021, the Food Bank will host our ninth biennial hunger conference for our nonprofit and community partners. Details about the event, including the location, available workshop sessions, and registration information can be found below.

Fulfilled: Fighting Hunger during the Pandemic and Beyond

Conference Purpose: To increase awareness of our collective response to food insecurity and to share ideas, skills, approaches, and best practices for staff and volunteers in order to enhance and enrich the hunger-relief community to better serve the San Diego region. Fighting hunger is at the public forefront more than ever before. During the pandemic, our network of partners has truly stepped up to the challenge. We want to showcase and expand on successes to give all nonprofit partners the tools to continue this critical work.

When: Wednesday, September 29, 2021, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Attendees are welcome to attend all sessions or just the sessions that interest them. There will be one virtual link to enter the sessions the entire day.

Where: The 2021 Hunger Conference will be held virtually

Cost: This event is FREE for all Food Bank Nonprofit Partners

Online Registration: To RSVP for our conference, please CLICK HERE.

Conference Curriculum: The conference includes a breakfast plenary, 5 general session workshops, and a lunch keynote speaker. This year’s workshops will focus is on five areas of service delivery.

Schedule

Leah’s pantry will be engaging the audience in their Food Smarts Activities for those who log in early. 

Welcome and Plenary 8:30 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.
  • Welcome by Casey Castillo, Interim CEO and Vice President of Finance & Administration, Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank 
  • Terra Lawson-Remer Supervisor, San Diego County Board of Supervisors – District 3
Workshop 1 – 9:15 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.: Trauma-Informed Food Security Panel
  • Moderated by Dana Brown
  • Herminia Ledesma, Vista Community Clinic
  • Rocio Hammershaimb, St. Vincent de Paul Father Joe’s Villages
  • Oscar Gomez, Deputy Director of Child Development. MAAC Project
Workshop 2 – 10:10 a.m. – 10:55 a.m.: Community Connections – room breakouts by region
  • North Coastal – co-facilitated by Tabbi Reefer, Project Coordinator at the North County Food Bank, and Wendy Starling, North County Food Bank Director
  • North Inland – co-facilitated by Patrick Holstrom, Nonprofit Services Coordinator, and Pita Leon, FEED Coordinator
  • Central – co-facilitated by Belen Avendano, EFAP Coordinator, and Vanessa Ruiz, Vice President of Operations
  • East County – co-facilitated by Valery ODerio, Nonprofit Services Coordinator, and Shelly Parks, Director of Programs
  • South Bay – co-facilitated by Alison Erze, Nonprofit Services Manager, and Toni Sapienza, Nonprofit Services Coordinator 
Workshop 3 – 10:55 a.m. – 11:40 a.m.: Food & Climate Change
  • Shaina Meiners, CalRecycle, Greenhouse Gas Reduction Unit – Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
  • Alex Rosado, Environmental Scientist in CalRecycle’s Statewide Technical and Analytical Resources (STAR) division
Lunch Keynote 12:10 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
  • Katie Martin, author of Reinventing Food Banks and Pantries: New Tools to End Hunger
Nonprofit Partner Awards 1:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
  • Presentation by Alison Erze, Nonprofit Services Manager and Wendy Starling, North County Food Bank Director
Workshop 4 – 1:15 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.: Increasing Food Access
  • Angela Brannon-Baptiste, It’s All About the Kids Foundation
  • Rodney Misouri, North Park Apostolic Church
  • Omar Cellaros, San Ysidro School District
  • Stephanie Alvarez, Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego – Emergency Food Distribution Network
Workshop 5 – 2:10 p.m. – 2:55 p.m.: Self-Care Habits: Your Path to a Nourished Well-being
  • Elaine Dusetzina, Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach
Closing Remarks 2:55 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
  •  Remarks by Vanessa Ruiz, Vice President of Operations

Thank you for taking the opportunity to learn more about the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank’s 2021 Hunger Conference.
If you have additional questions, contact Shelly Parks at sparks@sandiegofoodbank.org.