Texas Hunger Initiative Launches Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty

Newly named collaborative will become the umbrella entity for THI, as well as interdisciplinary research, Global Hunger and Migration Project and Hunger Data Lab

Media Contact: Lori Fogleman, Baylor University Media and Public Relations, 254-710-6275
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WACO, Texas (Sept. 30, 2019) – Baylor University’s Texas Hunger Initiative (THI) announced today the official launch of the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, which will bring together efforts to address hunger in Texas and beyond. The Collaborative will become the umbrella entity for THI.

Since its founding in 2009, THI has grown from a small group of dedicated people with a vision to connect food resources to the people who need them most to a larger network of researchers and practitioners working on a national scale to find innovative hunger and poverty solutions.

To date, THI has provided technical assistance to more than 25 states and plays a prominent role in Washington, D.C., in developing scalable solutions to address hunger and poverty nationwide. The re-naming is an opportunity to better communicate why THI has existed and how its model works.

The Collaborative includes the same dedicated team led by Jeremy Everett, M.Div. ‘01, founder and executive director of THI, and Kathy Krey, Ph.D. ’08, assistant research professor and director of research and administration. Since THI will continue to exist as a project under the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, it will represent the work being done at the local and state level improving hunger and poverty outcomes for Texans.

The Collaborative will integrate research and practice through projects such as THI, the Research Fellows program, the Global Hunger and Migration Project and the Hunger Data Lab, among others, and will continue to conduct interdisciplinary hunger and poverty research with local, state, national and global relevance.

“The Collaborative’s core purpose is to help communities end hunger and its causes by better use of existing resources,” Everett said. “Our core belief is that hunger and poverty are too complex for any sector to comprehensively address alone. The process towards these ends is to gather all actors around the same table to solve problems, encourage innovation and research new ideas so we can build on successful strategies. The Collaborative will work to end hunger and share our proven hunger relief model across geographies and contexts.”

The Collaborative’s work is among the strategic initiatives outlined in the University’s Illuminate strategic plan, with Baylor becoming a recognized leader on poverty research and integrating social science with social responsibility.

“Baylor University is a place where we use our expertise and resources to address systemic problems facing our community, both local and global,” said Baylor Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D. “We see the newly named Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty as a being at the forefront in our efforts to fulfill this mission and want it to be a catalyst for creative solutions.”

Krey – who recently received a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to research expanding food access for rural students during the summer – said the Collaborative envisions a world where all communities have the tools they need to solve hunger.

“These are the same tools they might need to respond to a crisis or natural disaster: coordinated efforts, a menu of proven strategies and real-time data” Krey said. “We envision a world where complex problems like hunger are solved by communities, universities and the public and private sectors working together in new ways.”

More information about the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty is available at www.baylor.edu/hungerandpoverty.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.