One in four people globally are moderately or severely food insecure and 10 percent of people globally are hungry. Despite the fact that more than enough food is produced to feed the global population, the percent of people experiencing food insecurity is on the rise, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even prior to COVID-19, there was not meaningful progress towards meeting Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 2.1—ending hunger and ensuring access for all people to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round. Now the pandemic has made this goal even more challenging. Hunger will not be eradicated by 2030 unless bold actions are taken to accelerate progress, especially actions to address inequality in access to food. During this presentation, hunger and food insecurity experts will discuss challenges and opportunities in low-and-middle income countries (LMICs) and the United States, and will address systems and policy approaches to reduce food insecurity and disparities.

ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS:
 

Edward Frongillo, Jr, PhD 
Hunger and Food Insecurity in Low-and-Middle Income Countries
University of South Carolina

Dr. Frongillo PhD is Professor and Director of Global Health Initiatives at the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina. He has expertise in global food insecurity, validation of measures, policy and program evaluation, and consequences of household and child food insecurity. His research program also aims to understand how to advance policy and programs for improving nutrition and development. He has worked extensively with WHO, UNICEF, World Bank, USAID, FAO, and other organizations on these issues.

Hilary Seligman, MD
Food Insecurity in the United States and Policy Strategies to Reduce Disparities
University of San Francisco

Hilary Seligman, MD, MAS is Professor at the University of California San Francisco with appointments in the Departments of Medicine and of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Dr. Seligman is an expert in U.S. food insecurity and its health implications across the life course. Her policy and advocacy expertise focus on federal nutrition programs (particularly SNAP), food banking and the charitable food network, hunger policy, food affordability and access, and income-related drivers of food choice. She directs the CDC’s Nutrition and Obesity Policy Research and Evaluation Network, known as NOPREN.

Sarah Bowen, PhD
How Racism is a Fundamental Cause of Food Insecurity
North Carolina State University

Sarah Bowen, PhD is Professor of Sociology at North Carolina State University. Her research focuses on food systems, social institutions, and inequality, with a particular focus on the structural roots of diet disparities and food insecurity. Dr. Bowen is the author of two books: Divided Spirits: Tequila, Mezcal, and the Politics of Production (University of California Press, 2015) and Pressure Cooker: Why Home Cooking Won’t Solve Our Problems and What We Can Do About It (Oxford University Press, 2019). She uses mainly qualitative and community-based methods in her work and has conducted research in France, Mexico, Sweden, and the United States.