On March 24, 2026, nearly 400 of you joined us for one of the most timely and substantive conversations in our Conversations on Food Justice series. Restrictions on what SNAP recipients can purchase is no longer a policy debate; it is happening right now, in states across the country, affecting millions of families.

We were joined by three extraordinary researchers: Sara Bleich, Vice Provost of Special Projects at Harvard University; Laura Schmidt, Professor at UCSF’s Institute for Health Policy Studies; and Lindsey Smith Taillie, Associate Chair of Academics at UNC Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. Moderating with her signature rigor and warmth was Priya Fielding-Singh, Director of Policy and Programs at the Global Food Institute at George Washington University, our co-producer for this series.

More Conversations on Food Justice

  • 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.