MONTGOMERY – Students from Alabama’s colleges and universities will come together on Feb. 24 to examine food and housing insecurity among college students during the third annual Hungry for Justice Student Summit at Troy University Montgomery.

The free summit is presented by Troy University’s Office of Civic Engagement in conjunction with Alabama Possible, a statewide non-profit organization that works to reduce systemic poverty in Alabama.

“The summit is focusing on college student food and housing insecurity and mechanisms that colleges and universities have to address the needs of their student body,” said Jonathan Cellon, associate dean of First Year Studies at Troy University. “The conference will be more interactive and hands-on than in past years with students taking an active role in developing plans to address food and housing insecurity on their own campuses.”

Clare Cady, director and co-founder of the College and University Food Bank Alliance, and Marcy Stidum, founder of Kennesaw State University’s nationally-recognized CARE Center, will lead interactive, hands-on sessions focused on developing student-led, campus-based strategies for removing barriers to college completion.

As director of the College and University Food Bank Alliance, Cady leads a national network of campus-based food banks with 400 member institutions and has published research on food insecurity on college campuses.

Under Stidum’s direction, the C.A.R.E. Center at Kennesaw State develops and provides programming that supports students who have experienced homelessness, food insecurity and the foster care system.

During the afternoon session, students will present their work to address food insecurity on their college campuses through Campus Kitchens, food pantries and research. Students from Auburn University, Birmingham Southern College, Samford University and Troy University will make presentations during the session.

The conference is free to all students and university personnel, and lunch is provided to all attendees. Students can sign up for the conference at: http://tinyurl.com/hfj2017.