Initiatives
Whether educating and mobilizing students to join in the fight against hunger, creating multi-sector collaborative coalitions to address childhood hunger in Alabama or convening university leaders to make food and nutrition security a priority, the Hunger Solutions Institute is a convener, bringing together experts and practitioners from all disciplines and sectors to collectively address hunger and malnutrition.
As a convener, collaborator and multiplier, HSI works in four unique ways:
• Emphasizes Human Sustainability – Founded within the disciplines of the human sciences, the HSI is human-centric, recognizing that the health and well-being of people is truly the foundation for long-term sustainability.
• Connects Knowledge with Practice – HSI is dedicated to aggregating and disseminating the latest knowledge, research and best practices to those addressing hunger locally and globally.
• Empowers Communities – Although solutions are pursued at every level, the HSI emphasizes those from the frontlines of hunger which can be community owned, operated and sustained.
• Creates multi-sector partnerships – HSI’s research and outreach strategy is to create knowledge coalitions, representing all academic disciplines, and to connect them with partners from the public and private sectors in the battle against hunger.
End Child Hunger in Alabama
ECHA is a public movement addressing the critical issues of hunger and food insecurity facing Alabama’s children and youth. In 2013, ECHA was launched as an effort to move Alabama into the top 25 percent nationally in child food security. Since its beginning as the first outreach initiative of the Hunger Solutions Institute at Auburn University, ECHA’s network has grown to include public and private sector partners from around the state. ECHA’s mission is to ensure that every child in Alabama has access to nutritious foods so they can develop into healthy, educated, and productive adults.
Presidents United to Solve Hunger
PUSH is a historic consortium of universities from five continents whose presidents have pledged to work collectively towards food and nutrition security. The HSI serves as a Secretariat for PUSH. Nearly 90 university presidents have signed the Presidents’ Commitment to Food and Nutrition Security, collaborating in the areas of teaching, research, outreach and student engagement.
PUSH Website >>
PUSH Brief >>
Universities Fighting World Hunger
UFWH is a global higher education movement focused on educating, mobilizing and organizing students, administrators and faculty in the war against hunger. The innovative model was launched by Auburn University in 2004 in partnership with the UN World Food Programme (WFP). The movement has involved nearly 300 universities worldwide and includes three major activities:
• Hunger awareness and consciousness-raising: knowing and caring about hunger
• Advocacy: teaching students to become strong activists for causes in which they believe
• Academic initiatives: including a Hunger Studies minor curriculum and relevant academic research, often in partnership with international organizations, such as WFP and FAO
UFWH is the only student movement that unites all academic disciplines – from agriculture to engineering and from business to communications – in the collaborative effort to solve hunger.
UFWH Website >>
UFWH Brief >>
