News

  • February 13, 2024

    IN THIS ISSUE: Evaluation - An important and underutilized tool for food systems work - An Interview with Rachel Dannefer; West Side Campaign Against Hunger Digital Choice Online Ordering Pilot Evaluation - Executive Summary; Farms at NYCHA: Final Evaluation Report; GrowNYC Grainstand: Evaluation Brief / Suggested Readings & Resources / Policy Highlights / Previous Video Recording / Upcoming Events / Opportunities EDITORIAL Greetings CUNY Urban Food [...]

  • February 7, 2024

    Rachel Dannefer is an experienced public health evaluator and researcher, and a CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute Fellow and PhD student at CUNY. She has dedicated her career to conducting public health evaluations in New York City. We sat down with Rachel to discuss the power of evaluation for strengthening public health and food systems projects. Katherine Tomaino Fraser (KTF): HI RACHEL, THANKS FOR JOINING [...]

  • December 19, 2023

     IN THIS ISSUE: Featured Interviews & Articles: Student Perspective: Making CUNY a Place to Educate and Organize New York City Food Workers: A Call to Action; Barboncino Workers United: Interview with Alex Dinndorf; A Human Rights Approach to Food and Labor, article by Jacquelyn Sullivan / Suggested Readings & Resources / Policy Highlight / Previous Video Recording / Upcoming Events / Survey / Opportunities EDITORIAL [...]

  • December 6, 2023

    On July 14, 2023, the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, released a both timely and necessary report entitled “Food, nutrition and the right to health.” In light of current global turmoil and instability, the international community has been rendered particularly vulnerable to food and health-related challenges. In her role as Special Rapporteur, Dr. Mofokeng makes a compelling case for the [...]

  • December 6, 2023

    On July 26, 2023, in a unanimous election, workers at Barboncino, a pizzeria in Crown Heights, voted to join Workers United, becoming the first unionized pizzeria in New York City. Workers at Barboncino organized to improve working conditions, calling for better wages, clear disciplinary procedures, and a zero-tolerance policy against harassment of all kinds. Luis Saavedra, a Research Associate at the CUNY Urban Food Policy [...]

  • December 6, 2023

    Luis Saavedra, a Research Associate at the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute (CUFPI) and a student in the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy Masters in Public Health program, reflects on his experience as an undocumented undergraduate student in the early 2010s at CUNY and the parallels with the experience of CUNY students working in food. As one of the authors of [...]

  • October 12, 2023

    IN THIS ISSUE: Featured Interviews & Articles: The Campaign Against CUNY’s Pouring Rights Contract with PepsiCo: An Interview with Eman Faris; The National Movement to End Pouring Rights Contract: Interview with Catherine Cochran and Daphne Crother; Lessons from the NYC DOHMH's Fight Against Big Soda: Interview with Thomas Merrill; Envisioning a Sustainable CUNY Food System: Interview with Nicholas Freudenberg; Student Perspective: The Impact of Values-Based Procurement [...]

  • October 11, 2023

    Image Credit The fight to end CUNY’s 10-year $21 million Pouring Rights Contract (PRCs) with Pepsi Co. is not just a local fight for a healthier and sustainable campus lifestyle. It is fought across the country among various campuses such as the University of California Davis (UC Davis) and is led by students and supported by their faculty and staff.  Join us in this exclusive [...]

  • October 11, 2023

    Image Credit Nicholas Freudenberg is a Distinguished Professor of Public Health at CUNY SPH and Founding Director and Senior Faculty Fellow at the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute, is a true champion of promoting health and well-being in urban communities. With a wealth of experience and an extensive academic background, Professor Freudenberg is at the forefront of driving positive change in public health. For over [...]