Conference of Leaders

Schedule of Events

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7

8:30-9:30

Continental Breakfast

9:30-10:45

Program Sessions:

Taste of the Nation Welcome Session: Together We Can Make No Kid Hungry a Reality
Speakers: Jodi Zwiebach, Jennifer DeRosa, Marcus Finley, Josh Wachs
Celebrate the 2009 season, meet other Taste of the Nation volunteers, and learn more about Share Our Strength’s national campaign to end childhood hunger by 2015.

Operation Frontline Volunteer Round Table Discussion
Session Moderator: Cathy Berg, Share Our Strength

Operation Frontline Breakout Session: Launch of the New Online OFL Database
Speakers: Laura Seman and Janet McLaughlin, Share Our Strength, David Cheng, Idealist Consulting
In this session, the National Team will unveil a new, online database. From host agencies to courses to volunteers, we’ll show you how this new tool will store, organize, and report on your program’s data, helping you improve efficiency and track progress towards your goals.

11:00-12:15

Program Sessions:

Great American Dine Out Breakout Session: Successes and Plans
Session Moderator: Sheila Bennett, Share Our Strength
Join a roundtable discussion with restaurant industry leaders; CEOs, Marketing experts, and more. We will be discussing the successes of the Great American Dine Out 2009 as well as plans for the future. Engage in conversations regarding the implementation of a successful cause-marketing campaign and brainstorm new ideas on how to make the Great American Dine Out 2010 even better.

Great American Bake Sale Breakout Session
Session Moderator: Amy Braiterman, Share Our Strength
Come hear about the 2009 Great American Bake Sale season, the most successful year to date! Learn about Great American Bake Sale’s role in the fight to end childhood hunger by 2015. Join in an open discussion about the plans for the 2010 Great American Bake Sale season. Share your ideas on what works and what does not when planning a bake sale, volunteer outreach, and the new designs for participant materials. What’s a bake sale without some sweets? Taste recipes from our sponsors, Domino Sugar, Food Network, Family Circle and Ultragrain.

Taste of the Nation Breakout Session: Share Your Strength
Share tips and strategies for a successful Taste of the Nation event.

Operation Frontline Breakout Session: The Gold Standard Operation Frontline Class: What does it look like and how do we get there?
Session Facilitator: Laura Seman, Share Our Strength
This session explores the characteristics of a high quality Operation Frontline class, and introduces tools, resources and strategies for ensuring your courses include the key elements that determine maximum impact.

12:30-2:00

Opening Lunch Plenary
Water generously provided by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna

Keynote Speakers:

  • Pat Nicklin, Managing Director, Share Our Strength
  • Josh Wachs, Chief Strategy Officer, Share Our Strength

Presentations from Share Our Strengths’ State Partners:

  • Alex Ashbrook, Director, D.C. Hunger Solutions
  • Rosemary King Johnston, Executive Director, Maryland Governor’s Office for Children
  • Linda Stone, Senior Food Policy Coordinator, Children’s Alliance
  • Debra Susie, Executive Director, Florida Impact

2:15:-3:30

Workshop:

Healthy School Meals Now: Lessons from Chefs
Speakers: Chef Tim Cipriano, Chef Tony Geraci, Chef Seth Bixby Daugherty, Chef Jorge Collazo
Healthy school meals are an essential component of Share Our Strength’s strategy to end childhood hunger in the United States. For children participating in both the breakfast and lunch program — the vast majority of which are low income — almost half of daily calories are consumed at school. Participants will hear the stories of four chefs who have transformed the meals served to kids in their communities and explore ways to bring these lessons to communities across the country.

OR

Information Session:

Finding New Ways to Share Your Strength
Q&A with Share Our Strength staff
Join us in the Leader’s Lounge for a tour of all of Share Our Strength’s programs. Whether it’s Taste of the Nation, the Great American Dine Out or A Tasteful Pursuit, we offer are a variety of ways you can help Share Our Strength fight childhood hunger in America. You may already volunteer for Operation Frontline or be a veteran Great American Bake Sale organizer, but we’d like a chance to show you the full range of our activities. You can visit the information tables at you own pace and meet Share Our Strength staffers during this informal session. You may just discover another strength you’d like to share.

3:45-5:00

Workshops:

No Kid Hungry - Stories of Success
This workshop will discuss early success stories of the campaign to end childhood hunger, we will hear from our state partners & grantees, and we will provide a deeper understanding of Share Our Strength’s national impact.

OR

A Growing Movement: How you can increase community access to fresh produce through gardening
Speakers: Liz Falk, Common Good City Farm; Diane Reeder, The Queen’s Galley; Sarah Copeland, Good Food Gardens, Food Network
Hear from a panel comprised of community agents who are involved in gardening projects that increase access to affordable, healthy foods in their neighborhoods.

6:00

Welcome Cocktail Reception featuring Share Our Strength supporting Chefs
Wine and spirits generously provided by Brown-Forman
Beer generously provided by Stella Artois
Water generously provided by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna

Featuring appetizers prepared by:

  • Michael Blackwell, Montecito Country Club, Santa Barbara, CA
  • Carlos Guía, The Country Club, A New American Steakhouse, & Wynn Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
  • Morris Salerno, The Grotto and Salerno restaurants, Dallas, TX
  • Matt Selby, Vesta Dipping Grill and Steuben’s, Denver, CO
  • Monica Thomas, Tailored Taste, Hyattsville, MD

7:00

Welcome Dinner
Wine and spirits generously provided by Brown-Forman
Water generously provided by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna

Speakers:

  • Debbie Shore, Share Our Strength
  • Janet McLaughlin, Share Our Strength

Culinary Emcee:

  • Billy Harris

Cooking demonstration and main course prepared by:

  • Andy Husbands, Tremont 647 & Sister Sorel, Boston, MA
  • Andrew Nowak, Slow Food Denver, Denver, CO

Performing: The Urban Nation H.I.P.-H.O.P. Choir of Washington, DC

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8

8:00-9:00

Continental Breakfast

9:00-10:15

Morning Plenary
Presenters: Two Moms from the “Witnesses to Hunger” movement
Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in Maryland

10:15-4:00

Service Day
*Sponsored by Tyson Foods
Water generously provided by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna

7:00

Leadership Awards Dinner
Wine and spirits generously provided by Brown-Forman
Beer generously provided by Stella Artois
Water generously provided by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna

Keynote Speakers:

  • Bill Shore, Founder and Executive Director, Share Our Strength
  • Jeff Swartz, President & CEO, The Timberland Company
  • Aaron McCargo, Jr., star of Food Network’s Big Daddy’s House

Leadership Awards Emcee:

  • Carrie Welch, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Food Network
  • Jenny Dirksen, Director, Community Investment, Union Square Hospitality Group

Operation Frontline Hall of Fame Introductions:

  • Kori Reed, Executive Director, ConAgra Foods Foundation

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9

8:00-9:00

Continental Breakfast

9:00-10:15

Workshops:

Deepening the Engagement of Your Online Community
Speakers: Lauren Miller and Thaddeus Kromelis, Blue State Digital
Learn how to maximize the power of the internet to build an online community, promote action and raise funds. Find out how to create rapid and effective communication between you and your supporters. Online strategists from Blue State Digital will teach innovative approaches and best practices to deepen the engagement of your online community.

OR

The Hunger-Obesity Paradox- How Can Food Assistance Programs Improve Nutrition?
Speaker: Joanne Guthrie, FANRP, USDA ERS
The twin challenges of hunger and obesity within low-income households raise tough questions about food assistance in the United States that can vex even-the-most-experienced hunger advocates. During this interactive workshop led by a top researcher on the issue, participants will explore potential mechanisms for the hunger-obesity paradox and examine proposed solutions. Using the Supplemental and Nutrition Assistance Program (previously called Food Stamp Program) as case study, attendees will evaluate policy alternatives that could help ensure that food assistance programs not only eliminate hunger but improve nutrition.

10:30-11:45

Workshop:

Winning “Share of Heart”: How to Rally Constituents Around a Cause
Speakers: Donna Fontana and Annamarie de la Cruz, Weight Watchers; Michael Holton, Hickory Farms; Annica Kreider, McAlister’s Deli
Hear success stories from corporations that have creatively activated cause alliances to meet business and social objectives. From consumer product promotions and employee engagement to advertising and PR, find out what works - and what doesn’t - in the world of cause marketing.

OR

Cultivating Local Leadership for National Impact
Speakers, Ray Blanchette, Ignite Restaurant Group; Jenny Dirksen, Union Square Hospitality Group; and Doug Czufin, Canyon Cafe Acquisition Company, LLC
Share Our Strength’s most valuable assets are its local leaders, but cultivating effective and sustainable leadership within volunteer networks is not always an easy task. This workshop will highlight successful strategies for identifying, organizing, motivating, and transitioning project volunteers to leverage their strengths for maximum impact in the Campaign to End Childhood Hunger.

12:15-1:30

Lunch Workshops (boxed lunches will be provided)

Interactive Workshop: OK, I’m on Social Media…Now What??
Speaker: John Haydon
*Sponsored by Tyson Foods
You’ve set yourself up on Twitter and you have a ton of friend on Facebook. Now what? How can we work together in the social media space to strengthen our efforts to end childhood hunger? John Haydon will lead an interactive session on using social media for social good.

OR

No Kid Hungry 2015: the Congress, the White House, and You
Speakers: Ellen Teller, FRAC; Debra Susie, Florida Impact; Duke Storen, USDA
This workshop will provide a legislative update on the Child Nutrition Reauthorization, discuss President Obama’s pledge to end childhood hunger by 2015, and identify ways in which participants can get involved on the local, state or federal level.

1:45-3:15

Closing Plenary

  • Political Roundtable with George Stephanopoulos featuring interviews with national experts, including USDA Under Secretary Kevin Concannon, on the issues and solutions related to ending childhood hunger.
  • Hunger in America’s Classrooms: Share Our Strength’s Teachers Report, Presented by Lake Research and sponsored by C&S Wholesale Grocers

 

 

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