The legacy of economic injustice and the burden of hunger fall heavily on rural communities.
Rural communities experience alarming rates of food insecurity as policies fail to address the
agricultural, economic, and financial needs of Americans living in hard-to-reach areas—denying
farmers land and capital, and denying families food and resources. In this conversation, we will
explore parallels between the past and today’s current struggle for food and economic justice,
and dive into how community organizing, policy, advocacy and cross-sector collaboration play a
pivotal role in addressing the root causes of rural hunger and food insecurity.

Meet Our Panel

Beth Brewster, Supervisor of Food Services, Caroline County MD

Dwayne Patterson, Chief Equity Officer, Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation

Matthew and Tia Raiford, Co-Founders, Strong Roots 9

Kashi Sehgal, CEO and Founder of Retaaza

Sarah Steely, Director, No Kid Hungry Virginia (moderator)

More Conversations on Food Justice

  • Four square portraits of the three panelists and one moderator who spoke about philanthropy and food justice as part of a regular series, Conversations on Food Justice. From left to right, Caesare Assad (brunette, smiling at the viewer, and wearing a dark blue shirt), Christina Chauvenet (short light brown hair, smiling at the viewer), Mel Jackson (a smiling black women with shoulder length hair, arms crossed wearing a white suit coat) and Chuck Scofield (a smiling man wearing a dark sport coat). The image is outlined in orange and blue. The logos for Share Our Strength (in bold black) and Food & Society at the Aspen Institute (bold blue underlined in red, light blue, yellow, and turquoise blue) are placed in the lower left corner.
  • Bands of orange and blue frame the title, Conversations on Food Justice: The role of SNAP and WIC in the Food is Medicine spectrum. Four portraits of the panelists are centered. They are: Dr. Caree Cotwright, Associate Professor, University of Georgia; Dr. Kofi Essel, Food is Medicine Director, Elevance Health; Liz Landa, Resident Services Manager, Mercy Housing; and Moderator Kelleen Zubick, Managing Director, Health Systems, Share Our Strength. In the lower left corner are logos for Food & Society at the Aspen Institute and Share Our Strength, producers of this event.