The Global Food Institute at GW (GFI) will be hosting two virtual meetings this summer — on July 9 and July 15 — for faculty to share ideas and provide input on two key upcoming initiatives:

We hope to see you at one of these meetings and are grateful in advance for your time and feedback. 

GFI and Food Tank are proud to present a weekly editorial series featuring thought leaders across the food system working on innovative approaches to the most pressing food and agriculture challenges of our time.

Among the contributors are GFI affiliate faculty! Dr. Moses Kansanga spoke with our Director of Policy and Programs, Priya Fielding-Singh, about the need to tackle postharvest losses, the role of gender equity, and what he’s learned from farmers, while Dr. Kofi Essel shared his thoughts on Food as Medicine and the types of innovative programs that can address lifestyle-related chronic disease through novel food interventions.  We expect contributions from more GFI faculty in the coming weeks. 

We invite you to join Food Tank and GFI for our inaugural Food and Agriculture Policy Summit on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, at the Jack Morton Auditorium in Washington, D.C. 

This full-day, in-person event will feature dynamic conversations on how to nourish a growing population while advancing sustainability, equity, and resilience across food systems. More details about the day’s agenda and speakers will be available in early fall, and we hope to see you there!

See above for an opportunity to provide insights on the agenda for the event! 

GFI recently co-hosted the second annual International Food Aid Showcase: Shared Learning and Looking Ahead in close partnership with Counterpart International and The Alliance to End Hunger.

At the event, GFI affiliate faculty members Caitlin Grady, Erica Gralla, and Maryam Z. Deloffre hosted an interactive booth to gather feedback on their multi-unit rapid response research project.

The team is examining both the value of international food aid and the potential impacts of eliminating it with a data collection tool set to launch in the future to inform more effective global food aid policy.

Good Food for All Summit 

In partnership with GFI, the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) hosted the Good Food for All Summit on June 18th. More than 100 representatives from all sectors across the U.S. food system attended the Summit — including national leaders from the grocery industry, philanthropy, community investors, local government, policy makers, and advocates. 

In the closing panel, “Creating Healthy Corner Stores,” GFI’s Dr. Bill Dietz described how PHA’s work in getting a big supplier of convenient stores to provide fresh fruits and vegetables sparked his interest in corner stores. This led him to work with Healthy Corners, a program run by D.C. Central Kitchen, and with J’s Grocery in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Both efforts were informed by GFI’s analysis of the social networks of people living in low food access areas.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently announced a new funding opportunity for rapid-response projects through their Healthy Eating Research program.

Proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis. Projects should focus on understanding how recent changes to nutrition policies and programs at the federal, state, and local levels impact nutrition, health, and economic outcomes among diverse families living with limited incomes.

We want to lift up your work and share information about events, opportunities to collaborate or whatever you think is important to share. Email us at globalfoodinstitute@gwu.edu.