The Saugatuck Center for the Arts’ Intriguing Conversation Series kicks off Thursday, Sept. 15 with a discussion about childhood hunger in Allegan County. The free program begins at 7 p.m.

Studies show there are more than 25,000 children in Allegan County and one in five are going hungry each day. Theresa Bray, executive director at the Allegan County Community Foundation, and Troy Vos from the non-profit Kids Food Basket, will unpack this number, talking about what we mean when we say that kids are hungry and how we know that children in Allegan County are struggling with hunger.

“I suspect most of us don’t know that our region struggles with childhood hunger,” said SCA Executive Director Kristin Armstrong. “But we hear fairly startling statistics about the numbers of children in Allegan County eligible for free or reduced school lunches, so we know there are issues very close to home. We hope this Intriguing Conversation provides facts about what’s happening and how people can impact the problem.”

Bray and Vos will discuss how programs like food banks, free school lunches, and nonprofits like Kids Food Basket impact hunger for our youngest citizens, and what else people can do to impact this serious issue.

For more information, visit sc4a.org or call 269-857-2399. The Saugatuck Center for the Arts is located at 400 Culver St., Saugatuck.