Why build a Hunger Free Community Coalition?

Communities across the state are full of individuals doing great work to reduce food insecurity but often these individuals and organizations are working in silos, doing their own projects and having an impact but not collaborating with others who have a stake in tackling this problem. Food insecurity is a complex issue requiring a response that exceeds the capabilities and resources of any one individual, organization, agency or sector. Hunger Free Community Coalitions bring people together to build collective responses to food insecurity.

I’m interested in building a Hunger Free Community Coalition in my community, how do I get started? 

Before you begin the process of building a NEW coalition, make sure that there is not already a coalition in your community that you could plug into. If you know that one does not exist and that you and your community could be doing more, then we encourage you to move forward with building a local Hunger Free Community Coalition. YOU CAN DO IT! You can start a new coalition in your community, but you don’t have to do it alone. There are many tools and resources available to support building and sustaining impactful, action-oriented community coalitions. 

To get started, we recommend you read through THI’s Toolkit for Building and Strengthening Hunger Free Community Coalitions. This toolkit serves as a best practice guide to help move through important steps in building and sustaining a successful coalition. It includes numerous hands-on tools and example documents. 

If you have questions or would like to strategize with a BCHP staff on how to start a new coalition, please fill out the Contact Form and our staff will reach out to you.