IN THIS ISSUE: Editorial / Food as a Human Right / Institute Research & Media Highlights / In Other News / Institute Forum Events: Past & Upcoming / Food Policy & Advocacy Highlights
EDITORIAL
As we begin 2026, this issue of the CUNY Urban Food Policy Monitor highlights the growing urgency – and opportunity – of advancing food policy solutions that center equity, affordability, health, and accountability. A core theme in this issue – running throughout highlights on research, media engagement, policy developments, and public forums – is the pressing need to sustain and expand, evidence-informed public action to address deepening food system inequities at local, state, national, and global levels.
In Institute Research & Media Highlights, we share new findings on how food environments and costs shape dietary health, alongside evaluations of housing-based nutrition programs that bring food directly to where people live. This section also spotlights the Institute’s work related to local and national conversations on public supermarkets, grocery prices, and food affordability, as well as reflections on lessons from the pandemic that remain highly relevant as policymakers confront persistent food insecurity. In Other News, we welcome a new Faculty Fellow, Dr. Jennifer Cadenhead, whose leadership and collaborative research contributes an invaluable perspective to the Institute’s work advancing evidence-informed food policy, particularly efforts to strengthen school food systems as a cornerstone of health, equity, and opportunity for NYC’s children and families.
The remainder of the newsletter tracks recent updates across Institute Forum Events and key Food Policy & Advocacy Highlights, including upcoming discussions on ultra-processed foods and corporate accountability with keynote panelist San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, as well as legislative and policy actions shaping values-based procurement, food worker protections, community-based composting, and food system data. Continuing to connect research, policy, and advocacy – grounded in data and driven by community priorities – is essential and foundational to those of us committed building a more just and resilient food system in New York City and beyond.
Editors of this Issue: The CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute Staff
Digital Content Specialist: Liv Collins, Communications Assistant and Digital Content Specialist, CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute
Production Coordinator: Rositsa T. Ilieva, Director of Policy, CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute
