By: Jason Peña, ASU Food Systems graduate student.

The President of the United States is surrounded by people who carry out missions to maintain order and progress. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is a specific agency within the Executive Office of the President (EOP) that helps the President implement their vision. The OMB performs this function by developing and executing the President's budget and through providing guidance to agencies, reviewing and clearing testimony, regulations, and Presidential Executive Orders. Working for the OMB requires flexibility, an extremely high level of accuracy, and good negotiation skills. The career employees of the OMB are subject matter experts and provide support across many departments and administrations. Overall, the OMB serves three functions: 1) Budget, 2) Management, and 3) Regulation. OMB is the largest office within the EOP, which also includes the National Security Council, the Domestic Policy Council, and the Council of Economic Advisors among other White House staff offices.

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This year’s Student Council Sustainability Officer Initiative (SCSO) challenge titled, “Fashion for the Future'' was a great success throughout the Phoenix Union High School District, with 2500 students participating. From the Office of Sustainability with the City of Phoenix, Emma Collins, AmeriCorps VISTA serving as the Student Engagement Coordinator, and Sustainability Specialist, Darice Ellis, explained how the program began, this year’s challenge, and what we might expect for the future. 

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A new Arizona State University hub will lead two humanities-driven sessions at an international sustainability conference taking place in South Africa June 20–24.

The BRIDGES Flagship Hub at ASU will join global research leaders, experts, industries and innovators at the second annual Sustainability Research & Innovation (SRI2022) Congress to advocate for sustainability scholarship and innovation, as well as transdisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaboration and action.

The BRIDGES Flagship Hub at ASU launched earlier this year as part of a broader UNESCO-driven program established in 2021. Five hubs are launching in 2022, including the hub at ASU, which opened within the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory.

Read the full article on ASU News.

By: Zac DeJovine, ASU Food Systems graduate student.

Following a long, exciting, tiring, informative, and insightful week, my classmates and I had one final trip to make for our D.C. Food Immersion course as students in the Sustainable Food Systems program. Jerry Hagstrom, journalist, local celebrity, and walking encyclopedia of Washingtonian culture, had invited our cohort to his home in Woodley Park for a chat about food over some pizza and wine.

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As part of the EPA Resilience Webinar series, in partnership with EPIC-N, Apache Junction Parks & Recreation Director Liz Langenbach joined a panel with SCN Director Anne Reichman and Project Cities Program Manager Julia Colbert to discuss one of Project Cities’ first projects, the development of a dog park for the community.

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By: Elora Bevacqua, Swette Center student worker.

World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms is an organization like no other that provides anyone the opportunity to travel and work on farms around the world. The process starts with registering as a WWOOFer on their website and finding a host. When I decided to pursue this opportunity, I wanted to stay in the United States as a “test run” before committing to an abroad experience. After scrolling through the list of hosts located all over the country, I sent messages to many in various northeastern states. Wainscott Farm in upstate New York was the first to respond and Lisa, my future host, accepted my request! 

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Check out one of HUE's latest collaborations with the City of Tempe! Jenny’s Trailer is a new, solar-paneled mobile cooling center built in partnership with Tempe’s Homeless Outreach Prevention Effort (HOPE) that serves as a place of shelter during extreme heat. The HOPE team travels around city parks and other locations weekly to provide the homeless a place to cool off and receive cold bottled water, as well as offer housing and social services provided by Tempe. Check out more details here!

By: Shelby Kaplan, ASU Food Systems graduate student.

Jocelyn Brown Hall is the Director of the North American Liaison Office of FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which has a focus on food security and agriculture management. The organization was formed post World War II in Canada to reduce hunger while improving food and nutrition security. Currently, there are 190 participating members, and they are present in over 130 countries across the globe. FAO has three major goals in the current food price crisis: let the market decide, don't close off borders, and start thinking about alternatives. I believe these goals are even more important with current events.

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We are pleased to announce the release of 6 new project summary reports! The fall 2021 semester comprised of 10 student projects that engaged over 60 students from various disciplines, including sustainability, engineering, environmental resource management, and public affairs! 

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This week we are excited to highlight one of our exceptional faculty members, Dr. Gregory Broberg! With an extensive background as an elementary and middle school teacher, Greg has cultivated a passion for educational equity, focusing on how to best support the unique needs of students. Before he was a teacher, he worked in various capacities in the juvenile court, including being a Court Appointed Special Advocate. Dr. Broberg is with the ASU School of Social Transformation as a Justice & Social Inquiry faculty member and Senior Lecturer.

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By: Stephanie Lip, ASU Food Systems graduate student

During our weeklong DC Immersive, several of our meetings took place in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) building. On one particular day, we had the privilege of meeting with the team from the Marketing and Regulatory Program (MRP) in the USDA conference room where people from all over the world come to discuss matters with policy officials within the Department.

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By: Wazenn Nithesh, ASU Food Systems graduate student.

Agriculture was one of "three great branches of domestic industry" along with commerce and manufacturing. All three were equally entitled to the care and protection of the government. Agricultural interests were distinct and not always best served when included with those of commerce. On December 9, 1825, by a vote of 22-14, the U.S Senate approved a resolution creating a standing Committee on Agriculture.

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The ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, in collaboration with the Conservation International Lab at ASU and Sustainable Earth, recently published a comprehensive article for conservationists of all ages and all places to help provide greater understanding of what they can do to be a protector of our planet’s biodiversity. The article includes three easy behaviors that every human can do that will directly and positively impact biodiversity at a global scale. These actions include adding more plant-based foods into your diet, discover how you can reduce your daily water use and communicate directly with your elected officials and other government representatives. To learn more about what biodiversity is and how you can add your efforts to protecting the planet, read this article.

By Kathleen Merrigan, Executive Director of the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University

Farmers are coping with a fertilizer crisis brought on by soaring fossil fuel prices and industry consolidation. The price of synthetic fertilizer has more than doubled since 2021, causing great stress in farm country.

This crunch is particularly tough on those who grow corn, which accounts for half of U.S. nitrogen fertilizer use. The National Corn Growers Association predicts that its members will spend 80% more in 2022 on synthetic fertilizers than they did in 2021. A recent study estimates that on average, this will represent US$128,000 in added costs per farm.

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By Kate Seybold, ASU Food Systems graduate student.

As part of our Washington DC Immersive, our Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership cohort had the privilege of visiting the future home of DC Central Kitchen. Executive Director Mike Curtin and Healthy Corners Program Manager Yael Reichler met with us to share about DC Central Kitchen’s history, the innovative work they are doing to create a stronger and more equitable food system, and the exciting things on the horizon for the organization.

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By: Ami Freeberg, ASU Food Systems graduate student.

As part of the Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership program’s immersive week in Washington DC, our cohort visited one of Up Top Acres rooftop farms. Kathleen O’Keefe, a co-founder of the business, shared their story, strategies, successes, and challenges with our class.

Since 2014, Up Top Acres has grown food, flowers, and herbs on building roofs throughout the DC area. The company came together by recognizing the need for developers to manage stormwater through green infrastructure (EPA consent decree), an increasing demand for locally grown food, and interest in sustainable building practices. Today, Up Top Acres manages 17 rooftop farm and garden sites, totaling four acres of growing space.

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By Mira Word Ries—Global Locust Initiative (GLI)

On May 20–21, 2022, Global Locust Initiative (GLI) team members traveled to Texas A&M University to participate in a successful launch event for the $12.5 million NSF-funded Biological Integration Institute: Behavioral Plasticity Research Institute (BPRI). The BPRI is the first virtual institute of its kind, dedicated to studying all aspects of phenotypic plasticity. After the COVID-19 pandemic delayed in-person meetings, the event, called the “BPRI Bootcamp”, provided an excellent opportunity to network, workshop ideas, and explore the diverse perspectives and backgrounds of the participants. The bootcamp brought together 38 faculty, staff, and students across Arizona State University, Texas A&M University, Baylor College of Medicine, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Washington University in St. Louis, and the USDA ARS.

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By: Jillian Dy, ASU Food Systems graduate student.

Chad Maisel is well aware of the powerful platform for change he is afforded through his job. As Director of Racial and Economic Justice at the White House, he makes high stakes policy decisions every day that impact millions of Americans. His portfolio includes immigration, economic mobility, and racial justice. If you’re wondering if it’s easy to sleep at night with that kind of responsibility – it’s not.

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By Mira Word Ries—Global Locust Initiative

The phenomenon of a desert locust outbreak has long struck fear in the hearts of farmers and pastoralists. Swarms that obscure the sun and stretch for kilometers, can easily devour the hopes of a plentiful harvest. From late 2019 into 2022, the Greater Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and parts of southwest Asia, experienced a severe desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) outbreak. Many of the 23 countries impacted had not seen an upsurge of this magnitude in decades. For Kenya, it was the worst in 70 years. In conjunction with other disasters like drought, flooding, armed conflict, and a pandemic, over 36 million people faced crisis-level food insecurity in locust-affected countries (as of May 2021). On March 2, 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) officially declared the outbreak was over.

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HeatReady Schools, a HUE-funded pilot project led by Jenni Vanos, discusses their collaboration with Phoenix schools, including Paideia Academies, that aims to mitigate heat risk by helping schools create a safer environment for their students. As part of this effort, a HeatReady Scorecard was created, which includes a set of 30 recommendations for what makes a heat-ready school. The scorecard is designed to help school administrators gauge their school’s heat preparedness, and find areas for improvement. As the program grows, developers hope to create an official Heat Ready certification that schools can earn.

Check it out on ABC 15!