Due to an unexpected emergency, this seminar has been postponed and will be rescheduled for a later date to be determined.
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Hosted by the GPH Center for Anti-Racism, Social Justice, and Public Health
This event is part of the CASJPH Seminar Series
The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights incorporates a “right to food” indicating that food must be accessible, available, and adequate for all individuals. Fulfilling this right reduces risk for noncommunicable diseases and increases lifespan but systemic inequities within and outside of food systems can hinder a society’s ability to meet this obligation and achieve widespread food security. Food policy councils (FPCs) are often created through a state or local government body and strive to advance state and local food systems through coordinated policy solutions.
Join Sara E. Abiola, PhD, JD for a talk covering her study which examines the work of New York State FPCs in relation to policy advocacy for laws and policies that will improve access to and ownership of healthy food among African Americans and other minority populations. FPCs were characterized according to governance structure, organizational complexity and activity, organizational policy priorities, community resources, community engagement, food assistance programming, and funding. Several indicators were developed to assess both the equity focus and racial equity focus of FPC agendas. Preliminary findings suggest that New York State FPCs should strive to develop a more well-defined policy agenda in relation to food systems equity through enhanced representation of minority communities, integration of racial demographics into surveys and assessments, and creation of and advocacy for policy proposals that incentivize investment in communities with limited access to nutritious food.
About the Speaker:
Sara E. Abiola, PhD, JD is the Executive Director of the Tisch Food Center and studies the intersection of public health law and social determinants of health to determine how policy can promote healthy eating behaviors. Her investigations of food policy before and during the COVID-19 pandemic have concluded that a multi-faceted, multi-level policy approach that integrates health and social services holds the most promise for creating more equitable outcomes for noncommunicable diseases and other nutrition-related outcomes. She has co-authored publications on food policy and related topics in the New England Journal of Medicine, Health Affairs, and the Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics and contributes to public health and food policy conversations on NPR Radio and Vox. Dr. Abiola was on the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health faculty in the Department of Health Policy & Management from 2012 to 2021. She completed her BA in Psychology and International Studies at Yale University and earned her JD and PhD from Harvard University.