By Wesley Conner, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student 

As Swette Center certificate students, we have the pleasure of receiving The Hagstrom Report in our email inbox daily to stay up-to-date on the inside scoop of DC Agricultural politics and news. The man behind the newsletters, Jerry Hagstrom, joined us with Helena Bottemiller Evich, an accomplished agriculture and food journalist from Politico, on a panel to discuss the role of journalism in promoting and informing policymaking. Later we had Matt Herrick, the Senior Vice President/ Executive Director of IDFA Foundation at the International Dairy Foods Association, join in on the conversation as well.

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By Claire Robertson, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student 

Jocelyn Brown Hall—Director of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Liaison Office for North America—joined the ASU Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Cohort for a wide-ranging discussion about advancing sustainable, resilient agriculture and food systems around the world to achieve food security. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations celebrated its 75th anniversary last year with over 194 member states working in over 130 countries worldwide to end hunger through technical assistance, research, and policy guidance. At ease in the classroom, Ms. Brown Hall rapidly began connecting the work of the FAO and global food security challenges with the experiences and expertise of cohort members around the room, from conflict to climate change to indigenous cultivation practices.

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By Stu Lourey, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student

During a Wednesday panel of our D.C. immersive, we had the privilege of hearing from food industry executives, all of whom have significant experience in government. Interestingly, none of them spoke exclusively about the positive work their companies are doing at present. Instead, what seemed to motivate them was the need for change – both at their companies and in the food and agriculture sector more broadly. It was clear that they saw the opportunity to lead through that change from their role in the private sector. 

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By Fran Alvarado, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student 

On a beautiful sunny day during ASU’s Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership immersive week, the founder and CEO of Wellfound Foods, Sarah Frimpong, joined us to talk about their local business and how they are transforming the food world in DC. There was a need for better packed food in a small café on Capitol Hill and they wanted to create the difference. 

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By Kana Miller, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student

A window of opportunity. The power of convening. Transforming the food system.  

Throughout our immersive, we heard from a diverse array of speakers, representing various facets of the food system. From the Agricultural Marketing Service and Agricultural Research Service within the USDA and the White House’s Office of Management and Budget to NGO and food industry leaders, these three messages were repeated. 

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By Emma Rotner, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student 

When schools closed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, many students across the country lost the reliable meal sources that they would typically receive at school or through other child-care programs. Each day, millions of children rely on the National School Breakfast and School Lunch programs for their meals and main source of nutrition for the day. These school closures increased food insecurity and childhood hunger during an already economically unstable time. It is estimated that 14% of families in the U.S are experiencing food insecurity during the pandemic or as a result of the pandemic (FNS, 2020). This includes approximately 13 million children. To address the growing economic instability and food insecurity, the Trump administration passed the CARES Act and the Biden administration implemented the American Rescue Plan (ARP). Both plans Included a large number of waivers that would allow school districts to serve food in different and unique ways (FNS, 2020).

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By Cam Petersen, M.S. in Sustainable Food Systems student 

Our cohort spoke with Robert Bonnie, President Biden’s nominee to be Agriculture Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation, on a sunny Friday, July 23, 2021. The conversation was remote, as things tend to be nowadays, and Robert Bonnie spoke to us from his office at USDA. 

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Written by Mackenize Martinez, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student

On the afternoon of Wednesday, July 21, the Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Cohort took a much-anticipated trip off of ASU’s DC campus. The entourage embarked on a refreshing stroll down K Street to the Washington DC office of Dentons Law Firm, one of 204 locations worldwide that serve to build agile, tailored solutions to meet the local, national, and global needs of private and public clients of any size.

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By Eric Hemphill, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student

During our D.C. immersive, we were fortunate enough to hear from staff of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry including Katie Naessens, Senior Professional Staff Member, Adam Tarr, Senior Professional Staff, Kyle Varner, Professional Staff, and Jacqlyn Schneider, Deputy Staff Director, who gave a nuts and bolts look at the inner workings of the Senate Ag Committee.

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By Dory Cooper, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student

On the first day of a week-long immersion trip to Washington DC, our Food Policy & Sustainability cohort met via Zoom with Mae Wu, the Deputy Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs (MRP) at USDA. This was a wonderful opportunity for us to learn more about her role and the current priorities of MRP.

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By Jane Coghlan, Swette Center Student Worker

After an early morning of professional headshots on the fourth day of the immersive, everyone felt a little sluggish as we sat down to hear Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young speak. That changed rapidly as Dr. Jacob-Young’s high energy and enthusiasm for science lit up the room and grabbed everyone’s attention as soon as she began talking about her career. It was immediately easy to see that she loves her work and loves to educate and inspire the next generation of leaders.

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Our team has put together this list below of listservs / job posting networks for undergraduate and graduate students studying sustainable food systems who are interested in pursuing a career in this field. If you know of any more that should be on this list, we encourage you to email us at foodsystems@asu.edu.

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By Tucker Larson, Swette Center Student Worker

On Friday, July 9th, the USDA announced that it would be allocating $500 million to increase competition and “level the playing field” for meat and poultry processing. These funds will come through the American Rescue Plan and are intended to increase capacity, giving farmers and ranchers more choices when it comes to meat and poultry processing. On top of this $500 million, the USDA will also be providing $150 million to existing small and very small (SVS) processing facilities. Small facilities have anywhere from 10 to 499 employees and very small facilities have less than 10 employees or annual sales of less than $2.5 million. A third of this will be going to increasing the SVS plants processing capacity, while the other two thirds will go to producers who saw an unexpected increase in costs from overtime inspections and other variables caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Eating sustainably can sometimes feel like a daunting task with so many factors to consider. This can be especially true when eating at a restaurant where you often have no idea where the food on your plate came from. You don’t have to feel this way, though. In the Phoenix metropolitan area, there are more and more restaurants making sustainability a priority. We’ve compiled a diverse list of 8 local restaurants near ASU Tempe campus with delectable, sustainable food sold at a reasonable price. They are not listed in any particular order, and you can click on the names of the restaurants to visit their websites. Do you know of a restaurant sourcing sustainable food that should be included here? Email us! swettecenter@asu.edu 

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These clubs and organizations at ASU are a great place to meet others with interests in sustainable food systems and get hands-on experience with projects. Check them out on SunDevilSync to learn more about how you can get involved! If you know of any other ASU clubs or organizations that should be added to this list, please let us know! You can email the Swette Center at swettecenter@asu.edu 

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Looking to make a difference in your community and get more involved with the Phoenix local food system? Look no further. Here is a list of some great places to volunteer in and around ASU. This list is regularly updated, so if there is something you think is missing, don’t hesitate to email us at foodsystems@asu.edu!

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As the 2020-21 school year comes to an end we want to appreciate and celebrate the contributions that our team of student workers has made to the Swette Center. The Swette Center has been made stronger thanks to each of their contributions, creativity, and good humor. We’ll miss them in our weekly team meetings, and wish them the best on what comes next in their academic careers! 

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By Mackenize Martinez, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student 

This blog is part of a series from the December Arizona Immersive program of the Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Graduate Certificate Program. Students virtually toured the state, meeting with farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, government staff and non-profit leaders. 

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By Mary Rochelle, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student 

This blog is part of a series from the December Arizona Immersive program of the Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Graduate Certificate Program. Students virtually toured the state, meeting with farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, government staff and non-profit leaders. 

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By Claire Robertson, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student 

This blog is part of a series from the December Arizona Immersive program of the Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Graduate Certificate Program. Students virtually toured the state, meeting with farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, government staff and non-profit leaders. 

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