The inaugural Indiana Hunger Summit was held on Thursday last week, bringing together all parts of the food value chain in an effort to help feed more hungry Hoosiers.
Indiana farmer and former Ambassador to the United Nations for Food and Agriculture Kip Tom was one of the keynote speakers and was asked who needs to be a bigger part of the food insecurity discussion.
“Well, I’m going to call out my own industry. I’m going to say farmers.”
Tom says they need to be a bigger part of the conversation in letting people know that food security is national security.
“I don’t care if you’re a farmer with a garden of an acre or you’re a farmer with who knows how many acres, but we need to take ownership in what policy looks like in Washington, D.C. to make sure that we have access to the innovations we need, we have policy that allows us to do what we can to make sure we can grow our economy but provide safe, nutritious, and affordable food to the American consumers and those around the world.
“So, I’m always a big advocate telling farmers, get involved,” Tom continued. “Call, make sure you stay connected with your people in the Statehouse and the governor, and at the same time at the federal level with your senators and House members to make sure that they understand that you’re paying attention.”
Tom encourages farmers to get involved in their communities and reach out to consumers, something he thinks all farmers could do a better job of doing.
“Talk to your neighbors when they question some practice that you do on your farm, or just see what their own needs are. For instance, I’m having conversations, sometimes they’re a little uncomfortable, but around MAHA. I mean, right now, I feel making America healthy again should be a high priority, but it’s making sure that we show people, and have access to the food they need to eat, make sure that they get involved in the physical activities they need to. But right now, it’s kind of targeting farmers. So, we want to make sure we’re doing the right thing in the right manner to make sure we’re producing that healthy, safe, and affordable food.”
You can watch Tom’s presentation and my fireside chat with him from the Indiana Hunger Summit on our Facebook page, @hoosieragtoday, or you can see it below.
Hoosier Ag Today was one of many sponsors of the inaugural event. Congratulations to Heidi Spahn from Corteva, Cara Augspurger from Grace Care Center Foundation, and Sam Schwoeppe from Fresh Connect Central for leading such a wonderful and much-needed Indiana Hunger Summit!
