East Carolina University invited Amy Beros, our President & CEO, to deliver a keynote speech at the inaugural Hungry for Change Conference.
The Hungry for Change Conference was a gathering of universities, community leaders, faculty, staff, students, and food system professionals to discuss hunger solutions at ECU and across the region.
– Amy Beros Food Bank President & CEOI had the honor of delivering the opening keynote at East Carolina University’s inaugural Hungry for Change conference. I left feeling deeply grateful — and genuinely encouraged.
The conference theme was “From Awareness to Action,” and what I appreciated was not just the conversation about student hunger, but the energy in the room. More than 100 students, campus leaders, pantry teams, and community partners were all there because we believe food insecurity is not something we simply study or talk about. It is something we respond to together.
I was especially proud to be there alongside Ramya Mabry, who leads ECU’s Williams-Ross Purple Pantry, one of our incredible campus partners. Her leadership is a powerful reminder that real change often begins close to the ground: listening carefully, noticing what students are carrying, and building practical solutions with dignity at the center.
In my keynote, I shared that student hunger is community hunger. It is shaped by the same rising costs, transportation barriers, housing pressures, and impossible choices we see every day across our region. A student may be going to class, working, caring for family, and planning for the future — and still quietly wondering where their next meal might come from.
That reality is heavy. But the gathering at ECU reminded me that we are surrounded by people who are choosing action anyway.
We are navigating a challenging season, and I know the weight of it is real. But I also know this team. I know your creativity, your care, and your commitment to finding a way forward when the path is complicated.
We do not need to have every answer before we take the next right step. Sometimes action looks like strengthening one partnership. Sometimes it looks like removing one barrier. Sometimes it looks like asking a better question, or making sure a neighbor feels seen and respected when they ask for help.
I left ECU reminded that this work is hard, but it is also full of possibility. Thank you for being part of that possibility every day.
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