Chesco hunger conference set for Friday at Widener

DELAWARE COUNTY

Hunger conference set

for Friday at Widener

CHESTER The sixth annual Delaware County conference on hunger will bring representatives from agencies and nonprofits to Widener University on Friday.

"We started it in 2008 when we started to see a big bump in the number of people coming to the food cupboards," conference organizer Fran Alloway said. "We had like a 30 percent increase that year, and it really hasn't gone down since then."

The day will include talks about childhood hunger, how to best use EBT cards to purchase food, culturally diverse food options, and information on growing a home garden. Participants will also have a chance to learn how food banks and groups such as Philabundance operate, said Alloway, a nutrition and food safety educator for Penn State-Delaware County.

"We're really trying to get people a little more involved in the whole food network," she said.

This year's conference is called the "New Face of Hunger." It will begin at 8:15 a.m. at Founder's Hall at Widener University.

- Laura McCrystal