Food and Society at Aspen Institute

10/12/2026

Food insecurity is a health issue. Last month, Corby Kummer joined Public Health Solutions President and CEO Cassaundra Howell for a fireside chat at Beyond the Plate, a policy briefing on food insecurity in New York. Grateful to have led this conversation on how policy, health care, and community organizations can work together to make sure every New Yorker has access to nutritious food.

Check out Public Health Solutions' case study on our Food is Medicine Community Action Plan: https://www.fimcommunity.org/cases/public-health-solutions

10/09/2026

The people who feed America can't afford to eat. Thank you to Jose Oliva, HEAL Food Alliance for sharing this reality on Conversations on Food Justice.
Watch: https://aspenfood.org/video/the-people-who-feed-us/

10/07/2026

Dignity isn't a benefit. It's a baseline. Emma Scott, Vermont Law and Graduate, on why worker-owned cooperatives are gaining ground.
More: https://aspenfood.org/video/the-people-who-feed-us/

10/07/2026

Young farmers. Veterans. Immigrants. Former farm workers. They're not just filling labor gaps, they're the future of American agriculture. Aspen Food Leaders Fellow Vanessa Garcia Polanco of the The National Young Farmers Coalition on Conversations on Food Justice.
https://aspenfood.org/video/the-people-who-feed-us/

10/06/2026

Jobs aren't enough. Food workers need a stake in what they help build. Mike Brady, CEO of 40 Million Owners, shares why employee ownership is the next frontier of food and economic justice. Watch the entire Conversations on Food Justice: The People Who Feed Us. More: https://aspenfood.org/conversations-on-food-justice/

Co-produced by Food and Society at Aspen Institute and Global Food Institute at The George Washington University

10/06/2026

The recording is live: Conversations on Food Justice

28 million people work in America's food system, more than any other industry. Most are paid the least.

We just wrapped a conversation with four people doing something about it:
🔹 Mike Brady (40 Million Owners) on employee ownership
🔹 Vanessa Garcia Polanco (National Young Farmers Coalition) on who gets to own land and businesses
🔹 Jose Oliva (HEAL Food Alliance) on procurement power and labor organizing
🔹 Emma Scott (Vermont Law & Graduate School) on worker-owned co-ops and supply chain accountability

Two out of three food system workers rely on SNAP or other food assistance just to eat. This conversation digs into why, and what a fairer system could look like.

Co-produced by the Global Food Institute at The George Washington University

🎬 Watch now: https://aspenfood.org/video/the-people-who-feed-us/

10/01/2026

We're live! Join "The People Who Feed Us: Building a Food System That Works for Workers" right now, through 2 PM ET.

What would it take to build a food system that treats the people who grow, prepare, and serve our food with dignity? This conversation will explore what fair pay, job stability, and worker well-being could look like across the food chain—from stronger labor standards and wage policies to new pathw...

10/01/2026

Starting in 30 minutes 🎙️ Tune in at 1 PM ET for "The People Who Feed Us," exploring what it takes to build a food system that works for the people who feed us. Join live below.

What would it take to build a food system that treats the people who grow, prepare, and serve our food with dignity? This conversation will explore what fair pay, job stability, and worker well-being could look like across the food chain—from stronger labor standards and wage policies to new pathw...

10/01/2026

Today at 1 PM ET 🎙️ Join Food & Society for "The People Who Feed Us," our latest Conversations on Food Justice session on fair pay, stability, and dignity for food workers. Free, virtual, register below.

What would it take to build a food system that treats the people who grow, prepare, and serve our food with dignity? This conversation will explore what fair pay, job stability, and worker well-being could look like across the food chain—from stronger labor standards and wage policies to new pathw...

09/30/2026

Corby Kummer Food & Society asked a room full of Climate Week attendees who's bought cod lately. Four hands went up. 🐟

This is exactly the disconnect that gatherings like this (hosted by Food Tank exists to fix: leaders across seafood, water, and food systems all working to reconnect us with what we eat and where it comes from.

Watch the room's reaction (and stick around for the "woo" at the end 👇): https://aspenfood.org/2026/09/29/blue-communities-blue-food-and-fisheries-the-global-perspective-climate-week-nyc-2026/

Panelists: Chef Barton Seaver, Chef and Author, Sustainability Fellow at New England Aquarium, and Director of the Sustainable Seafood and Health Initiative at Harvard; Wendy Norden, Director of Science and Global Strategies at Monterey Bay Aquarium; and Stefano Pisani, Mayor of Pollica, Italy.