Global and Local Solutions to Reaching Zero Hunger

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Throughout this past year we have seen how the pandemic has exacerbated food waste and food insecurity in the United States and around the world. Significant changes need to be made in order to get on track to achieve the goals that the UN has outlined for SDG 2: Zero Hunger by 2030, but how can we get there? How can we make healthy food local, affordable and accessible? What are steps to be taken toward food sovereignty and creating more sustainable food systems?

Join us in conversation with experts and food producers from the global, national, and local levels to hear their thoughts on the future of Zero Hunger and solutions we can all contribute to.

Moderators:

Diana Daniels; Global Goals Ambassador for SDG 2: Zero Hunger

Diana Daniels is from the Bay Area and is currently studying Political Science, Languages, and Music at Amherst College. She is fluent in Spanish, proficient in Italian, and is currently learning German. She also plays several instruments including oboe, saxophone and guitar. Currently, Diana is involved in remote volunteer work with The Farmlink Project, an organization born out of the pandemic and started by college students that connects farms with food surplus to various food distribution organizations across the country. At Farmlink, she works on the Food Insecurity Team, where she conducts outreach by calling various distribution centers. She also researches how they can broaden their impact and reach more marginalized communities. Diana works on the farm at school and has worked various restaurant jobs, so over the years food systems and food justice have become a big part of many aspects of her life. She hopes that in this position she can use her knowledge to collaborate with others, make our food systems more sustainable, and find ways to ensure access to food across the globe.

Brenda Martin; Global Goals Ambassador for SDG 2: Zero Hunger

Brenda Martin is an Advocate and UNA-USA Emerging Leadership Fellow who enjoyed leading a Community Dialogue on “Shaping our Future” and advocating as a UN Foundation Ambassador for its Shot at Life campaign. She’s a former IBM computer programmer who serves on the Prichard Committee and has served on the National PTA (NPTA) Communication Committee and as a Social Media Ambassador. She has presented national, state and local workshops on Increasing Graduation Rates, Diversity & Inclusion, Parenting Advocacy, Employability Skills, etc. She was a guest on NBC’s EDUCATION NATION, as a panelist for Parenting Magazine’s Mom Congress and articulated the stark connection in hunger and student performance. She was selected by the White House and U.S. Department of Education as a White House Champion of Change: Winning the Future for America and inducted into the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame. Bren participates with the Poor People’s Campaign and have written letters to legislators about poverty, institutional poverty and the impact poverty has on hunger, education, homelessness and more.

Panelists

Ahdi Zuber Mohammed, Communications and Partnership Consultant, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ Liaison Office for North America 
Ahdi Zuber Mohammed is committed to achieving Zero Hunger so that everyone can lead healthier lives through better food systems. Currently she is a Communications and Partnerships Consultant at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) Liaison Office for North America based in Washington, DC. In this role she raises awareness on key food and agriculture issues, and forms partnerships with organizations that can amplify these message creatively. Prior to FAO, she worked with the United Nations Environment Programme’s North America Office to coordinate outreach for major global campaigns, and activities to engage diverse audiences in environmental decision-making. Ahdi graduated from Mount Holyoke College where she majored in Environmental Studies with a focus on sustainable development.

Vanessa Garcia Polanco; Federal Policy Associate – National Young Farmers Coalition

Vanessa Garcia Polanco is an experienced leader, scholar, speaker, writer, and organizer working with food, agriculture and sustainability stakeholders to create and strengthen sustainable and just food systems and communities with research, policy and programmatic interventions. She advocates for sustainable agriculture policies and fair opportunities in agriculture for young, BIPOC, small and diverse growers as the National Young Farmers Coalition Federal Policy Associate. She creates partnerships and works with networks to address systematic inequalities in our society as a board member of The Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society and the Michigan Food and Farming Systems. Her research and advocacy focus on racial equity in food systems, food systems governance, sustainable agriculture policy, and resilient food systems and communities.

Roberto Meza; Emerald Gardens

On a mission to cultivate, heal, and transform communities with access to fresh food, Roberto cofounded Emerald Gardens, a year round greenhouse farm in 2017. Using passive solar design Emerald Gardens grows, harvests, and distributes microgreens and edible flowers to restaurants, grocery stores, food pantries, and individual residents in the Denver/Boulder area. They currently occupy 35 acres in Bennett, Colorado and operate cooperatively with Sugar Moon Mushrooms and ValueCycle greenhouse farm on the same property.

In 2020, Roberto cofounded the East Denver Food Hub (EDFH), which works to create an equitable, sustainable, and resilient food system that meets the needs of communities and rural food producers. In partnership with Front Range producers, High Plains Food Co-op, nonprofits, and institutions, EDFH promotes equity and inclusion in our food system and expands access to fresh and ethically-produced food through community wealth-building initiatives to promote food autonomy.

Roberto is the chair of Membership and Outreach for Mile High Farmers, the local chapter of the National Young Farmers Coalition and the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union. He is also a member of the Denver Sustainable Food Policy Council, and board member of the High Plains Food Co-op and the National Young Farmers Coalition.