Walsh University has been accepted for membership into the Alliance to End Hunger by the organization’s Executive Committee during its spring Board Meeting. By a unanimous vote, Walsh became the sixth university in the country to be accepted for membership. The national organization has highlighted Walsh in a new member profile on its homepage.
The Alliance to End Hunger engages diverse institutions to build the public and political will to end hunger at home and abroad. By establishing these connections, the Alliance facilitates increased collaboration among the hunger community at-large—allowing for more cross-sector, holistic engagement and less duplicative endeavors.
University members include Auburn University, Iowa State University, Monmouth College, Syracuse University and Tufts University, as well as private sector companies, government leaders, non-profit organizations, faith-based organizations and foundations. The full list of Alliance to End Hunger members is available on the organizations website at http://alliancetoendhunger.org/members/our-members/
Issues of hunger and food security have been a focus of several Walsh initiatives, including service programs led by students in the Br. Francis Blouin Global Scholars and the Leaders in Social Justice living-learning communities. The inaugural cohort of Blouin Scholars focused their studies on food insecurity and sustainability and during a 2015 semester in Rome they interned with Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican’s humanitarian and international development organization. The Blouins also spearheaded Walsh’s membership into the national network of The Campus Kitchens Project to repackage and distribute leftover dining hall food to local community partners. With funding provided by an AARP Foundation launch grant, Walsh became the second university in Ohio and the 44th nationwide to partner with Campus Kitchens.
In 2014, Walsh University founded and hosted the first Ohio State Hunger Dialogue and became the first Ohio institution to formally join the Presidents’ Commitment to Food and Nutrition Security.
Walsh was also selected to host "Summit Squared: One Movement. Exponential Impact," an international hunger summit that combined Campus Kitchens Project’s Fourth Annual Food Waste & Hunger Summit and the 12th Annual Universities Fighting World Hunger (UFWH) Summit. Walsh was chosen as the site to highlight how a small, private university can impact the fight against hunger.
Most recently, Walsh launched a Food Design Institute on campus to study food sustainability and hunger around the world. The new Institute is currently working with the City of Massillon to develop a Food Policy Council with support from a grant from the Stark Community Foundation with the goal to make Massillon a "hunger-free community."