OROVILLE — Educators and employees from Butte County and beyond joined together Thursday at the Butte County Office of Education to participate in a CalKidz anti-hunger summit.
The summit, in its seventh year, was organized to lead participants in networking, promising practices and a day to talk about students and improving communities and getting engaged in the summer. CalKidz provides meals and helps to reduce hunger in the north state. The summit explored anti-hunger resources in north state counties and was founded by Julianna Roberts, food and nutrition administrator for CalKidz at BCOE.
Representatives from Glenn, Tehama, Colusa and Shasta counties were present. About 40 people attended the summit.
Roberts retired this week after 38 years of employment and was given an award by BCOE Deputy Superintendent Tad Alexander.
The summit began with refreshments and networking activities led by Tanuka Gordon, founder and CEO of Mindful Littles. Mindful Littles is a nonprofit based in San Francisco that helps students and adults engage in community service. Her speech was called Nourishing Students from the Inside Out.
“I’m passionate about nourishing students from the inside out,” Gordon said. “If you can’t eat, you can’t function.”
The icebreakers were designed to have positive effects on participants. Participants cheered for each other in a game and then engaged in a reflection led by Gordon.
“We must uplift one another to create change,” Gordon said. “When you feel good, you do good.”
Various people spoke at the summit, including Oroville Mayor David Pittman, Alexander and Thomas Dearmore, chief operations officer at Community Action Agency of Butte County.
Alexander helps to run a mobile kitchen to get kids thinking about nutrition. Students are given a free meal in the summer.
Representatives were there from charter schools and organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club and Community Housing Action Team, for example.
The program originated in migrant camps, said Alexander.
Dearmore is also involved with the 530 Food Rescue Coalition, a Butte County Food Recovery Project which keeps food from being wasted. The staff at the coalition use an app to mobilize volunteers to bring food donations from food retailers to non-profits. The coalition’s goal is to fill gaps in the existing food recovery system.
We believe that good food belongs to people, not landfills, which is listed on the organization’s website
“We explore strategies to change this,” Dearborn said. “We take a holistic approach to hunger.”
To volunteer with the coalition, email [email protected].
“I think this is great,” said Christal Kruse, who works in the kitchen in the Oroville City Elementary School District at Oakdale Heights Elementary School. Kruse had not attended the summit previously.
“This really makes the community come together. I love it,” Kruse said.
Some of the summit sponsors were North Valley Community Foundation, Raley’s and Chico State.
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