The continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security and food workers, the deepening economic crisis brought by the pandemic, and the continuing disruptions from climate change demand rethinking how federal food policies can contribute to improved human and planetary health. In November 2020 voters chose their next president and Congress, creating the opportunity for food, farm, and social justice activists to shape a new federal food agenda. Key questions for that agenda in 2021 and the next four years include how the federal government can reverse the alarming rise in food insecurity as a result of COVID-19 and how federal policies can contribute to eliminating the systemic racism in our food system that leaves Black and indigenous people and other people of color with higher rates of diet-related disease, more food insecurity, less land ownership, and poorer paying and more unsafe food jobs. The nation also needs to decide what role large food multinational corporations should play in our food system and how to ensure that our food policy can benefit rather than harm our country’s immigrants. On January 28th, join the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute and invited experts for the second part of our virtual Urban Food Policy Forum on this topic (you may watch the recording from the December session here and read a summary of some of the policy recommendations here) presenting insights into these fundamental questions and more.

Speakers

• Marlysa D. Gamblin, Senior Policy Advisor, Racial and Gender Divides, Bread for the World Institute
• Qiana Mickie, Founding Principal, QJM Multiprise, former Executive Director of Just Food, and HEAL School of Political Leadership Cohort Member (2019-2020)
• Lucy Martinez Sullivan, Executive Director, Feed the Truth
• Jackie Vimo, Economic Justice Policy Analyst, National Immigration Law Center

Moderator

• Nick Freudenberg, Distinguished Professor of Public Health at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy and Director of the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute