Getting Everyone Together.....

It's been a really busy month for us. Between the various food drives, the Tri-State Fair, and the Summer Food Nutrition Program, We have kept a busy schedule. Busy-ness is good, because we really seeing some strides to alleviating hunger in the Panhandle!


One thing we did this past month is have our annual Agency Conference. This is a conference we host once a year. We get all the agencies, that we work with the distribute food through, together in one room. The magnitude of having 160+ agencies in one room is a really moving picture of neighbors helping neighbors. Before you ask, I consider everyone living in The Panhandle region my neighbor. That being said, watching one-man pantries sit next to micro food banks a huge contrast in terms of operation but united in their missions! Getting 200+ people together who are passionate about ending hunger in The Panhandle is exciting and sad at the same time. Exciting because we are partners together; sad because to problem is so vast in so many ways.

The goal of the conference was to equip an train pantries on how to work smarter, access volunteers, and to celebrate the year's successes. They went to classes like: Nonprofit Fundraising 101, Volunteers Helping You Impact Your Community, and Resources for Community and Business Development. At lunch, Dr. Darryl Birkenfeld, Director of Ogallala Commons, talked about "Rebuilding Local Food Sheds." He discussed the value of having a fresh vegetable garden at your disposal. The talk perked the ears of the agencies. Many of them have been looking for ways to acquire fresh vegetable.

This year's Agency Conference was a great way for everyone to reconnect, relearn, and remember why we work so hard to alleviate hunger! Hunger never sleeps and neither shall we. Onward!