Governor Parkinson Promotes Food Security in Kansas to Prevent Hunger and Malnutrition
Press Release
n an effort to help ensure Kansans have access to necessary and healthy foods, Governor Mark Parkinson has established the Kansas Food Security Task Force. The task force will focus on monitoring and reducing food insecurity and hunger throughout the state.
"No Kansan should be faced with having to decide between making ends meet or putting food on the table," said Parkinson. "Even though Kansas is the Breadbasket of the Nation, food security is a serious issue that reaches all ages, ethnicities and corners of our state. I am pleased to form this task force to help fight hunger, encourage healthy eating and help raise awareness about the dangers of food insecurity."
Established through Executive Order 10-11, the Kansas Food Security Task Force is charged with identifying ways to eliminate the root causes of food insecurity and hunger in Kansas. Members of the task force will review the status of nutrition assistance programs and assess ways to improve participation among food-insecure families. The task force will also monitor rates of food insecurity and submit annual reports to the governor that provide an overview of prior accomplishments and future recommendations for reducing household hunger.
Governor Parkinson has also signed a proclamation declaring the month of September "Hunger Awareness Month" to highlight on the issue and help bring awareness to food assistance programs for low-income Kansans.
The number of households receiving help through the Kansas Food Assistance program is at record-setting numbers. In fiscal year 2010, the Kansas Food Assistance program served an average of 117,000 families per month, and the three nonprofit Feeding America food banks in Kansas distributed more than 16 million pounds of food to the hungry. During the 2009-2010 school year, 47.5 percent of Kansas students participated in free or reduced price school meal programs.
Members of the task force are as follows:
Gary Brunk is the director of Federal Policy & Special Projects for Kansas Action for Children (KAC), a leading child advocacy organization. He spent 14 years as president and CEO of the KAC after formerly serving as executive director of the Corporation for Change. Brunk has over 30 years of experience in child welfare and community building. Brunk graduated from the University of Kansas with a master's in public administration.
Jennifer Church is the Nutrition and Physical Activity Program Manager for the Office of Health Promotion within the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The Office of Health Promotion works to reduce the incidence of death and disability from chronic disease and injury.
Susan Craig is the Outreach and Nutrition Education Manager for the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS). Craig has worked for SRS for 15 years and previously served as a county extension agent and an agent with the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program. She graduated from Kansas State University.
Rachel Graves currently serves as the executive director of development and marketing for Second Harvest of Greater St. Joseph, a local community food bank.
Ron Hamilton works for SRS as the manager of the agency's food distribution program.
Joe Hendrixson is the director of the Great Plains Regional Office of the Church World Service, a Christian ministry dedicated to eradicating hunger and poverty while promoting peace and justice. He was previously the executive director of Kansas Ecumenical Ministries.
Dr. Mary Meck Higgins is an associate professor at Kansas State University's Department of Human Nutrition and a human nutrition specialist at the K-State Research and Extension office. Dr. Higgins' primary responsibilities include statewide leadership in planning, implementing and evaluating nutrition extension education programs and developing educational materials about nutrition. Dr. Higgins graduated from Purdue University and earned her doctorate in food and nutrition from Iowa State University.
Rev. Dr. John Holzhüter is an Episcopal Chaplain and long-time advocate for the needs of disadvantaged youth. He currently serves as Chaplain for the Northeast Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans Association and works as a university grant manager for Ottawa University. Chaplain Holzhüter has worked with multiple nonprofits and overseen employment, education, barrier reduction, emergency assistance and supplemental and primary feeding programs throughout the state of Kansas.
Karen Hudson is a registered and licensed dietitian and the current coordinator for the Kansas Family Nutrition Program (FNP). Hudson is the former director of dietetics and food service for Wharton Manor Long-Term Care Facility and dietitian for the Fort Riley Intervention Project. She is a member of the American Dietetics Association and the Society for Nutrition Education.
Pam Jacob has worked for the State of Kansas for over 30 years and is currently the State's Food Assistance Program Manager at SRS. She graduated from the University of Kansas.
Dr. Cheryl Johnson is the director of Child Nutrition and Wellness at the Kansas Department of Education. She holds a bachelor's in Foods and Nutrition and a master's in Dietetics, Restaurant and Institutional Management from Kansas State University. Johnson volunteers with the Meals on Wheels program and supports local emergency food assistance programs.
Debi Kreutzman is the community relations manager for the Kansas Food Bank before serving as its agency relations director, working one-on-one with food pantries, soup kitchens and hunger relief partners in 85 Kansas counties. Ten years ago, she started a food pantry at Positive Directions for men, women and children who are living with HIV/AIDS.
Barbara LaClair has served as the chair of the Kansas Food Security Task Force since it began in 2006. She was the primary author of the report, Hunger in the Heartland, issued by the Kansas Health Institute in 2004. She earned her bachelor's degree in biology from Wichita State University and went on to receive her master's in health services administration from the University of Kansas.
Jodi Mackey is the director of the Kansas State Department of Education Child Nutrition and Wellness division. As director, Mackey helps provide leadership, guidance, training and supervisory oversight for local agencies in order to ensure quality nutrition and wellness programs for Kansas children.
Jane Metzger has been the president and CEO of Meals-On-Wheels of Shawnee and Jefferson Counties since 1990. She is the immediate past chairman of the Board of the Meals-on-Wheels Association of America, a current member of the Steering Committee for the "National Response to Senior Hunger" and a past president of the Kansas Community Nutrition Services.
Dan Nagengast is the executive director of the Kansas Rural Center (KRC) where he has directed and managed projects relating to regional food systems and small-scale wind energy for public schools. Nagengast is the former co-chair for the Kansas Rural Life Task Force and coordinator of the Kansas Food Policy Council. He attended the University of Nebraska for his undergraduate degree and earned his juris doctorate from Columbia University School of Law.
Anne Nugent is an analyst at the Kansas Health Institute, conducting and analyzing research related to public and population health issues, including nutrition and physical activity. Nugent earned her master's degree in public health from Saint Louis University and her bachelor's degree in chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis.
Lisa Ousley works for the Society of St. Andrew (SoSA) West Headquarters as the director of the organization's western region. The SoSA west region works with farmers, growers and other produce handlers to salvage produce by packaging and sending it to local food banks.
Natascha Phillip is the executive director of Flint Hills Breadbasket, a Community Food Network that provides food to underprivileged individuals.
Dr. Sandra Proctor is the coordinator for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) at Kansas State University and an assistant professor in human nutrition at the K-State Research and Extension office. She is a registered dietitian and received her Ph.D. in human nutrition from Kansas State University.
Anita Raghavan has worked for the Kansas Food Bank and Inter-Faith Ministries on childhood hunger issues. In addition, she has served on a number of governmental advisory committees, including the Kansas Nutrition Network.
Karen Siebert has worked with Harvesters, the regional food bank serving northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri, since 2004 doing communications and now advocacy work. She is a member of the Steering Committee of the Greater Kansas City Food Policy Coalition and participates in the new Building a Healthier Heartland initiative.
Tawny Stottlemire is the executive director for the Kansas Association of Community Action Programs. She is a former chairperson of the Kansas Nutrition Network and currently holds positions on statewide human service boards and commissions.
David Thomason is the director of the Kansas Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, an organization providing nutrition education and nutritious, supplemental food to over 77,000 Kansas mothers, infants and children every month. He was elected president of the National WIC Association and has served on its executive board for four years. Thomason graduated from the University of Kansas with a master's in public administration.
Tamara Tiemann is the Nutrition and Community Services Program Manager for the Kansas Department on Aging and is responsible for the congregate and home-delivered nutrition programs, transportation programs, and health promotion programs funded by the department. She is a registered dietician and holds a master's of science in human nutrition from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Brian Walker has served as the president and CEO of the Kansas Food Bank since 2003, but has been with the organization since 1997. The first program he put into place was the Food 4 Kids backpack program to provide weekend food to hungry children. Walker also implemented the Food Rescue Program, which collects frozen unsold meals and delivers them to hunger-relief agencies, and the Store Pick-up Program, which collects unsold perishable product from grocery stores for distribution to hunger-relief partners.
To read the full executive order, please visit: http://governor.ks.gov/issues-a-initiatives/executive-orders.
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