The WFC 2024 Annual Conference

September 18th-20th in Wenatchee, WA

Bridging the Gap

  Conference Agenda

 as of 9.3.24 sessions are subject to change

Just added free Head and Shoulder massages, on Thursday! 
Scholarships Available - Please contact Kellie McNelly, [email protected] to inquire about scholarships. For member programs only.

Hotel block: (Update as of today 8/29/24)  
Please try the Comfort Inn Plus at this link: https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/book/hotel-rooms.48184.html?promoCode=HELLO&singleRate=true
OR 
Best Western Chieftain Inn (as of 9/10/24)
The rate is still $115 + tax for either room type. WA State Food Coalition Group Rooms Booking Link
If preferred, you can the hotel directly at 509-665-8585 and ask for the WA State Food Coalition rate. Group ID:  2283 

Conference registration through WHOVA: https://whova.com/portal/registration/wfcac_202409/

  • Member registration fee is $150 (early bird). $175 after 9/2 deadline.
  • For nonmembers the registration fee is $175 for (early bird) and $200 after 9/2 deadline.  
  • One day registration, plus group tickets available. 

Keynote: Stephanie Land - Best Selling Author, Memoirist and Economic Justice Advocate 

The Netflix show, Maid, is based on her life story and is set on Kitsap Peninsula. To view the series, link here: https://www.netflix.com/title/81166770  Stephanie tells us she has a special place in heart for food banks in WA State. 

Book Club: Stephanie Land’s bestselling memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive will be our Book Club book for this year's conference.  Her book is available on Amazon for about $12 or at your favorite book store. 

Land’s memoir offers a unique and essential perspective from the frontlines of struggle, but the deeply personal, intimate details of her story paint a larger picture. The physical pain of her own poverty–like the mold in her apartment, and the “constant burn” and “shooting pain” from cleaning houses–clarifies systemic class inequalities, dispelling the myth that poor people are responsible for their own predicament and just need to try harder. Instead, she reveals the real culprits of her situation: domestic violence, untenable minimum wages, high housing costs, and government assistance programs that fail the people they ostensibly serve.

“Land nails the sheer terror that comes with being poor, the exhausting vigilance of knowing that any misstep or twist of fate will push you deeper into the hole.” – The Boston Globe

Tours: A conference favorite! Each year we offer local tours in the city we are in. This year's tours will include:
  •  Chateau Faire Le Pont Winery - $10 tasting fee, wine tasting (15-20 max people)  Filled
  •  Ohme Gardens - $5 fee to visit and receive tour of the gardens.
  •  Tour of the new distribution center and Market at the Chelan Douglas Community Action Council (CDCAC) & Pybus Market.
  •  Tour the Applet and Cotlets Candy Kitchen in Cashmere on your way to Leavenworth to tour the Upper Valley MEND Food pantry and Thrift store, plus time in Leavenworth to shop. 
 
 
 
Hope to see you in Wenatchee!