2023 Pantry Event Announcement

How the Other Half Eats: A Conversation with Priya Fielding-Singh

Indy Hunger Network will host author Dr. Priya Fielding-Singh for “How the Other Half Eats: A Conversation with Priya Fielding-Singh,” a free event on how income impacts food choices. The event will be held on September 28, 2023 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center. The event is intended as a way to bring together food pantry leaders and other non-profit leaders to learn more about the factors that influence food choice and how those vary based on a family’s income. 

Indy Hunger Network has hosted events for food pantries in Greater Indianapolis since 2018, and recently hosted over 300 pantry representatives in October for the 2022 Food Pantry Summit. Another summit is in the planning stages for the spring of 2024. “How the Other Half Eats: A Conversation with Author Priya Fielding-Singh” will serve as a midway point to ensure that pantry representatives have the opportunity to reconnect in between full summit events.

Dr. Priya Fielding-Singh is a sociologist, Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Studies at the University of Utah, and nonresident fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Her work is at the intersection of health, family, gender, and inequality, with a focus on food and nutrition equity alongside maternal and child health. In 2021, Fielding-Singh published How the Other Half Eats, which examines how and why people of different economic backgrounds make the food choices they do. Her research is directly connected to the topics of poverty, food security, and public health, and the takeaways from the research can be used to improve the charitable food system. 

In How the Other Half Eats, Dr. Fielding-Singh focuses on families of different income levels and examines why they select the foods they do, both nutritious and non-nutritious. Readers will find that there is often much more to the decision making than simply what is the most nutritious or inexpensive. 

For the event in September, Dr. Fielding-Singh will speak to attendees about her research and the key takeaways from her book. Her talk will be immediately followed by a facilitated discussion and Q&A session where pantry representatives will be able to ask questions that are relevant to the charitable food space and how to apply that research. There will also be a book signing and opportunities for sponsors to meet the speaker. 

The event will be free to attend for all food pantry representatives. More information will be coming soon on where and how to sign up. Keep an eye on IHN’s Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn pages for more information. Pantry leaders who are on IHN’s mailing list will receive more information by e-mail. To join the pantry network mailing list, reach out to alex@indyhunger.org.