BINGHAMTON, NY – The Binghamton Community Lab will host a mixer and discussion about the gravity of the growing food insecurity epidemic in Broome at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12, at the Lost Dog Café Violet Room, 222 Water St. in Binghamton. This event is free and open to the public. Please note that the regular schedule for the Binghamton Community Lab is now the second Tuesday of the month.

Issues of food insecurity have been widely publicized as of late, especially in light of the potential cuts to an overwhelmed emergency food distribution system brought on by the Great Recession. With this large challenge, our community is working hard at addressing this "silent" epidemic. But how well are we really doing? Is it shocking to know that in one of the richest countries in the world, in a state known for its fertile lands, that 47,000 people in the Binghamton region are at risk of going hungry, every day?

Speakers at the Community Lab will be Natasha Thompson, president and CEO of the Food Bank of the Southern Tier; Ray Denniston, special project coordinator at Broome-Tioga BOCES Food Service Department & member of the NYS Food Policy Council; and Lea Webb, City of Binghamton councilwoman and managing principal of Webb Consulting and the Half a Loaf initiative, are members of a newly formed Broome County Childhood Hunger Task Force purposed to bring the best practitioners together to find innovative ways to serve children.

Members of the Many Hands Food Co-operative, a grassroots project to make healthy, affordable food more accessible, will also be on hand to provide information.

The Binghamton Community Lab is a gathering place for citizen investigators to create and support improvements that will grow a healthier, wealthier and strong Binghamton region. The series, held regularly on the second Tuesday of each month will be facilitated by David Sloan Wilson, SUNY distinguished professor of biology and anthropology at Binghamton University and founder of the Binghamton Neighborhood Project, and David Currie, director of the Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition.

For additional information, contact Hadassah Head at evos@binghamton.edu.