Oxford and Allison to Attend National Meeting to PUSH for Hunger Solutions

Photo by Matt Reynolds

Student volunteers working for Razorback Food Recovery.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Representatives from more than 70 colleges and universities around the world will gather for the first operational meeting of PUSH – Presidents United to Solve Hunger – from 1:30-4 p.m. Wednesday, June 17, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

The University of Arkansas will be represented by Angela Oxford, director of the Center for Community Engagement, and Claire Allison, program coordinator for the Campus Hunger Initiative. Both have been actively involved in the creation and success of the Full Circle Food Pantry and the Razorback Food Recovery program at the U of A. Both are also actively involved in helping students and volunteers at other schools start similar programs in their own communities.

Presidents United to Solve Hunger was created in February 2014 at Auburn University to bring universities and international organizations together to address hunger solutions through teaching, research, outreach and student engagement.

The University of Arkansas was an early member and in December Chancellor G. David Gearhart was on hand for a meeting at the United Nations to formally sign the Presidents’ Commitment to Food and Nutrition Security. This was a promise to higher education leaders to make the issue of hunger a priority on their own campuses. Gearhart appointed Angela Oxford to be the U of A representative in the organization.

“Being part of PUSH – and attending the meeting this week – are great opportunities for us to network and share ideas with universities from around the world,” said Oxford. “It’s particularly helpful as our own food programs continue to grow and develop. We look forward to contributing to the work of PUSH and the global fight against hunger and malnutrition.”

“I’m excited about the chance to learn even more about the mission of PUSH,” said Allison. “I think this meeting will help identify specific ways in which the University of Arkansas can participate in the PUSH commitment to solve hunger locally and globally.”

The featured speaker at the Wednesday meeting will be Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who has made the solution of hunger and poverty a cornerstone issue of his administration. Two Honduran universities are current PUSH members.

Other speakers include:

• Auburn University President Jay Gogue
• Patrick Webb, the Andrew McFarlane Professor of Nutrition at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
• Catherine Bertini, World Food Prize laureate, former executive director of the United Nations World Food Program and professor at Syracuse University
• Shenggen Fan, director general, International Food Policy Research Institute
• Roger Thurow, author and senior fellow with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs
• Peter McPherson, president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
• Alastair Summerlee, president emeritus, University of Guelph.

PUSH members will use this operational meeting to work toward finding ways to channel the expertise, innovation and student engagement found at universities and colleges to help communities and nations build sustainable food security. PUSH member institutions include land-grants, liberal arts, faith-based, historically black, and Hispanic-serving colleges and universities from six continents.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.