Center News and Events
The fall 2013 semester is coming to a close and since our last newsletter, we’ve been engaging with our community partners- a busy month full of activities, events, research, writing and public hearings.
On November 19th, Center co-director Jan Poppendieck moderated Food Policy for Breakfast: History and Politics of the SNAP Program. A passionate group of activists, advocates, public health professionals and students gathered to learn about how the past thirty years of SNAP politics can inform the next. The New York City Council held a public hearing on hunger and food insecurity on November 25th where Dr. Poppendieck and prominent anti-hunger organizations delivered testimony focusing on what the future of food in NYC could look like, with the right changes to food policy, job creation, and the importance of a strong social safety net.
The NYC Food Policy Center was pleased to host the Partnership for a Healthier NYC’s 2013 Neighborhood Contractor Orientation in our home in East Harlem. This meeting brought together grant recipients from all five-boroughs who work on the ground making a difference in the health and wellness of all New Yorkers.
We also hosted the Museum of Food and Drink’s (MOFAD) first Roundtable panel discussion on NYC Soda Regulation. A lively and vibrant debate ensued, featuring advocates from both sides of the discussion:
Joel Berg, Executive Director, New York City Coalition Against Hunger
Parke Wilde, Associate Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University,
J. Justin Wilson, Center for Consumer Freedom,
Lisa Young, Adjunct Professor, Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University,
Nicholas Freudenberg, Faculty Director, NYC Food Policy Center at Hunter College
Dave Arnold, President and Founder, Museum of Food and Drink
The 2013 Annual Winter Meeting of the New York State Food Policy Council was held at the CUNY School of Public Health as well. We participated in the day’s events and gave testimony summarizing some of the findings of our most recent and forthcoming reports.
The NYC Food Forum, a gathering of food-active organizations that collectively support a better food future for New York City has also been active in developing strategies to advance NYC food policy in our five priority areas: hunger, healthy food, school food, food economy and food governance. Sign on to the primer, our guiding document available here.
Wishing all a happy, healthy and joyful holiday season. Stay tuned for our next edition of Food Policy Watch in the New Year!
