State College Borough to discuss food insecurity | WTAJ

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (WTAJ) — The State College Borough will host a community conversation about food insecurity March 12, 6-8 p.m. at The State Theatre.

This is a partnership among the borough, Community Conferencing and Penn State’s Center for Social Change and Belonging. The borough hopes that the collaboration will give the community access to a greater variety of resources.

“I think, as a whole, State College has some really great resources and Penn State has really great resources,” Chiluvya Zulu, director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at the State College Borough, said. “We want to make sure to bring that information to the community and let people know where they can access that kind of information and then have a discussion about it.”

The event’s itinerary is split into two parts: listening to a panel and a community discourse. The panel will feature representatives from the State College Food Bank, CentreSafe, Centre County Meals on Wheels, Penn State Student Care and Advocacy and Anti-Hunger Program with the YMCA. The second part — referred to as the “restorative circle” — will be a time for participants to come together and have conversations about the challenges they may face in their respective communities.

“They can interact, gain more information and talk about their experiences,” Elizabeth Siegelman, program director for Community Conferencing, said. “We can learn what the needs are that maybe we don’t know about and connect people to further resources.”

For those that cannot attend in person, a livestream is available.