Sustainable Food Students Stories

Model USDA musings: Reporting on urban agriculture strategy development
"This three-day event demonstrated the power of collaboration and innovation in addressing urban farming challenges and underscored the value of storytelling in shaping policy outcomes."

Model USDA musings: Stepping into the shoes of a policymaker
"As one of the leaders in the inaugural Model USDA, I had the opportunity to witness students roleplay as various food policy decision-makers for the simulation’s Scenario C: Growing urban agriculture."

Hands in soil, heart in community
ASU Farm is not just about pulling weeds or attending lectures—it's about contributing to a vision that ties sustainability, education, and community together.

30 years of Rural Development
Over their thirty-year difference between holding office in Rural Development, Under Secretary Basil Gooden and former Under Secretary Bob Nash have become an inspiration for advocacy in the food and agriculture sector.

Reporting on the Hagstrom Report
"On the first evening of our Food Policy Immersion in Washington, DC, our graduate student cohort piles into the backyard of Jerry Hagstrom’s house in Woodley Park for an informal talk with the prize-winning agricultural journalist."

Policy and politics at the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee
"The visit to the Senate Agriculture Committee was a defining moment for our cohort, providing us with a rare glimpse directly into the legislative process during a critical time for agricultural policy."

Advancing food policy: How NGO leaders are moving the needle
"Each panelist highlighted how policy moves forward in many different ways. It is up to us, the incoming food systems professionals, to find our way and understand that we can make an impact in many roles and positions, be it political or from the outside in."

The next generation is ready for a seat at the table
"The USDA NextGen program has made pursuing a graduate degree possible and has created a pathway for diverse voices to have a seat at the table. We are the next generation of leaders in the food systems space and we are ready to make our mark."

Presenting the 2024 ASU graduate cohort transforming food systems
We are thrilled to introduce Arizona State University’s 2024 cohort in the Food Policy & Sustainability Leadership graduate certificate program and Sustainable Food Systems MS program.

Decentralizing service: How DC Central Kitchen centers justice, not charity
"As a young person in today’s world, what often keeps me going is my unrelenting belief that a better world is possible. As we left the Klein Center, I was reminded that a better world is not only possible, it is already happening."

EPA’s fight for a resilient food system
"Solving food systems issues requires many innovative minds and dedicated partnerships who are equally passionate and motivated to create solutions. An active and crucial participant in the fight for agriculture and food system solutions is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)."

Not Your grandfather’s USDA: Secretary Vilsack looks to the future
"The ASU Sustainable Food Systems graduate student cohort kicked off the 2024 Washington DC immersive with a bang, meeting first with none other than the Secretary of Agriculture himself, Tom Vilsack."