Food Studies News
Graduate Student Works With Food Policy Council to Combat Rising Food Scarcity Due to COVID
After Gaudé was displaced from their job due to COVID, the late food studies Professor Evan Weissman connected Gaudé with the facilitator for the Syracuse-Onondaga Food Systems Alliance (SOFSA). Weissman was an associate professor in food studies and nutrition at Falk College for eight years before passing away unexpectedly while at home with his family on April 9. His research examined grassroots efforts to address food disparities in urban America.
“Evan had a very genuine and honest and humble way of looking at the world and doing it with such compassion. A lot of people that are involved with SOFSA knew Evan very well. I think we all are trying to do what he would have done in the way he would have done it and try to remember how he thought about things and how he approached them,” Gaudé says.
SOFSA is a new food policy council that sprang into action in response to COVID. “They saw the need to help organize and try to connect people with emergency food,” says Gaudé, who is working with SOFSA to establish an organizational structure while fulfilling the spiraling demand for emergency food. They have been researching other food policy councils, designating leaders and working on the bylaws. Gaudé says they are trying to make sure that social justice and racial justice is embedded within the organization itself. “We can’t achieve any kind of food justice without facing those things,” they says.
SU News sat down with Gaudé to discuss their role with SOFSA and the challenges the Syracuse community faces in mitigating food shortages due to the pandemic.
Q: What are you researching while working with SOFSA?
A: Most of the food policy councils that exist have more of a traditional leadership, like president, secretary, treasurer, co-chair, that sort of thing. Right now, we’re trying to do some research on non-hierarchical leadership or horizontal leadership, just to see if that improves the equity of the operations of the organization. I’m still doing research on that to see if that’s even a thing that people have tried, and if it works the way they think and want it to. We’re still looking and evaluating.
Q: How has the pandemic created more food scarcity?
A: The pandemic has really emphasized and exaggerated the inequities that already existed. We’ve seen all of these standard and popular supply chains really falter. Other avenues like shorter, value or regional supply chains have been able to rethink and redesign how they connect people with food. I think it’s really exciting work to be doing right now, because we have this impetus and this momentum to truly assess the current food system, make changes and start doing things in a more efficient and equitable way.
We’ve also been very cognizant and explicit about the things that we want to include and embed within the core mission of the organization, like systemic racism and the toll it has had in marginalized communities and the food system. You can’t separate the two.
Q: What are some initial challenges?
A: One of the things that we’re struggling with right now is reaching stakeholders with the lived experiences of the situations that we’re trying to address. That’s absolutely essential to have, to have the residents represent themselves. Without their input and voices telling us what they need, then we become just a group of mostly white people trying to do a good thing.
We’ve also been working democratically amongst all of the members and inviting anyone who expresses interest to be a part of it. We are trying to get out as far as we can into the community without physically going out into the community, due to COVID. Inviting people to come to the meetings, to come to the advisory board meetings and help us, critique us, tell us where we could be doing better.
It is a difficult time to be a young organization, because all of the traditional avenues to gain traction, visibility and new membership are not available to us right now. We’ve been getting a lot of input and feedback on our development thus far and trying to find like models that exist just to identify best practices. We’ve been connecting with other established organizations like Syracuse Hope, and with Peter Ricardo at the CNY Food Bank.
Q: What have you learned in this process?
A: I think one thing that I didn’t understand was the importance of food knowledge. It is one thing to pass a bill that says that corner stores need to have a percentage of fresh food, but if the members of the community that shop there don’t necessarily know what to do with it, they’re not going to eat it. For instance I think I’m biased because I cook everything, and if I don’t know, then I’ll look it up. But I’m also not a single parent of four kids with two jobs that doesn’t have time to educate myself on how to cook a rhubarb. It is a privileged thing to be able to afford to destroy a dish to a point where it is inedible. If you’re unable to afford more food, what are you going to feed your family if that happens?
We have been partnering with other organizations, like Jessi Lyons at Brady Farms to brainstorm different events that we could have given the limitations with COVID. I think letting people see the farm, how a carrot really looks out of the ground, and then also pair that with a cooking demo. It shows that cooking is not scary. It is scary until you know how to do it. Once you get past that fear, then it is a lot of fun.
~ A Syracuse University story by Brandon Dyer originally published on March 8, 2021.
Food studies students honor Weissman’s legacy as Lender Center fellows
Among the 2021-22 Lender Center student fellows are two Falk College students: Phoebe Ambrose, a junior food studies and citizenship and civic engagement double major, sustainable food enterprises minor, and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program, and; Avalon Gupta VerWiebe, a first-year graduate student in food studies Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics.
“My passion in food studies started with food justice and has evolved from there,” says VerWiebe. “In my spare time I cook, ferment and organize locally around food and food systems. This fellowship offered an opportunity to get to know the local food organizing work happening in Syracuse and to explore a mechanism of the food movement through the food policy council, SOFSA. The opportunity to meet folks in the community and elsewhere who are passionate about the same stuff I am but are coming from a diverse array of spaces in the food system is incredible valuable, and will absolutely help shape my future career by exposing me to new ideas and people.”
More on the Lender Center student fellows.
Falk College’s Unsung Hero Evan Weissman
When the 36th annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee announced the 2021 Unsung Hero Award winners, Falk College was pleased to see that Evan Weissman was to be honored posthumously.
Weissman passed away on April 9, 2020, but his passion and work with social initiatives continues to serve as an inspiration for many.
The Unsung Hero awards are given to community members, students, faculty and staff who have made positive impacts on the lives of others but are not widely recognized for their contributions. The awards were created to honor Dr. King’s vision of creating positive change in a troubled world.
Weissman grew up in Syracuse and was passionate about his community. He joined the faculty of Falk College in 2012 and played a key role in creating the food studies program, for which he was the undergraduate director. He was also involved in Syracuse University’s Aging Studies Institute and the Maxwell School’s Department of Geography as an affiliated faculty member. Weissman put participatory learning and engagement at the forefront of his teaching and was also focused on equity, diversity and inclusion.
“As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. accomplished through his teachings and life example, Evan Weissman similarly challenged his students to create positive change, inspiring them and all who worked with him to create that change through his passionate and tireless leadership and example,” says Rick Welsh, professor and chair of the Falk College’s Department of Nutrition and Food Studies.
Weissman’s lasting impact on his community can be observed through his countless contributions to various organizations, movements and publications. He worked with My Lucky Tummy, WAER’s City Limits project, Syracuse-Onondaga Food Systems Alliance, and countless others as an expert on food justice. “A tireless advocate for equity in the food system, his local work continues to serve as a national best practices model for bringing food justice to communities across urban America,” says Welsh.
“Professor Weissman had an unwavering commitment to social justice and worked through both scholarship and practice to achieve more just local food systems. As a mentor, he imparted a strong belief that revolutionary food systems change is possible. I share the recurring question Dr. Weissman asked his students and himself: ‘How can we use food as a tool for social change?’” says Welsh.
The award winners will be recognized at the 36th annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. The event will be held online on Sunday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m. featuring keynote speaker Ruby Bridges. Registration for the celebration is open to all and available on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration website. This years other Unsung Hereos include Bobbierre Heard, Dr. Frederick C. Gilbeaux, and Sameeha Saied ’21.
~ Adapted from a Syracuse University story by Whitney Welbaum ’23 published on Monday, January 25, 2021.
Students sought for 2020-22 Lender Fellowships
Applications are now being accepted for students interested in being 2020-22 Lender Fellows. An information session will be held October 1, and applications are due October 15. The Lender Student Fellowship carries on the vision and commitment of Professor Evan Weissman to advance food justice in Syracuse. Weissman, associate professor of food studies and nutrition in Falk College, died unexpectedly April 9. Shortly before he passed, Weissman was awarded the Lender Faculty Fellowship; he wanted to examine if the food systems in Syracuse were meeting the needs of the community, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In collaboration and consultation with Falk College and local food system representatives, the Lender Center chose Professor Jonnell Robinson to carry on the Faculty Fellowship in Weissman’s name. Five Lender Student Fellows will engage in research, community engagement, dialogue and reflection to inform local efforts to create a more equitable, sustainable and inclusive food system in Central New York. Working in partnership with the Syracuse Onondaga Food Systems Alliance (SOFSA)—a newly created food policy council—and Professor Robinson, student fellows will conduct participatory action research to promote community-driven food policies and practices.
Students from any discipline are encouraged to apply to serve as a Lender Student Fellow. The Fellowships last for two years and will allow students to engage in collaborative research led by a faculty member.
Visit the October 1st information session event page.
Food Studies Fall 2020 Newsletter
Nearly 10 years since the first food studies course was offered in Falk College, extensive class offerings, growing numbers of students majoring and minoring in food studies, an expanding list of community partners, and increased research funding are just some of the many strengths that define the food studies program at Syracuse University today.
In our classrooms and teaching kitchens, as well as side-by-side in the community with our valued partners, our students gain a deep understanding of food policy and governance, gastronomy, health outcomes of food systems, human nutrition, and food access. They also hone marketable skillsets in research, data collection, and analysis, as well as food preparation and presentation. Careers for food studies alumni are as wide-ranging as the issues food studies seeks to address.
As you read more about our program’s research, scholarship, news and more from students, faculty and staff in food studies, we hope you will stay connected with us. From visiting campus, guest lecturing in a class, supervising an internship, or hiring our graduates, we welcome your involvement. Please stay informed at falk.syr.edu and join us as our first decade continues.
Reining in High Sodium Diets by Raising Awareness
The prevalence of high blood pressure can be attributed to excess salt in the diets of Americans, beginning with what children eat in school, says chef William Collins, a culinary specialist with the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies in Syracuse University’s Falk College. Collins has worked as an executive chef for 25 years and has taught introduction to culinary arts at Falk for the past 12 years.
Today, the average American consumes an estimated 3,400 milligrams of sodium each day, more than one and a half times the recommended limit. Collins recently worked with the Onondaga County Health Department to host a workshop for a cross section of food service staff at schools and colleges in the county. The workshop (which took place before social distancing began) offered recipes, hands-on instruction and seminars for reducing the use of salt in meals served to children and young adults. “I’m a believer that our palates are somewhat trained, even at a young age, to eat what we’re accustomed to,” Collins says. “And if we’re used to having an abundance of salt in our food, that’s the way we’re going to eat for the rest of our lives.”
We reached out to Collins to ask how people can help limit their intake of salt while still producing delicious meals.
Why would you add salt to a dish?
There are two main flavor enhancers in the culinary world. One is salt, and the other is acid. I don’t ever want something to taste salty, and I don’t ever want something to taste sour. But the addition of either of those things to a dish can perk up the flavors that are already there.
Are cooks the source of the overabundance of sodium in the typical American diet?
It really isn’t what we’re putting in our food—it is what the manufacturers are putting in it. That’s where most of our sodium comes from: prepackaged foods and the manufacturing process. For example, look at canned tomatoes or diced tomatoes in water. The sodium content is excessive. Products that are labeled as “no salt added” contain one-tenth of the sodium.
What strategy can a home cook can use to reduce the sodium in a dish?
The addition method is when you add things that are lower in sodium to offset the sodium. For example, if you had a recipe for a marinara sauce that called for two cans of tomatoes, but instead you add some fresh tomatoes. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but by doing something as simple as that, you’ve taken the sodium content of those tomatoes and you’ve cut it in half by just adding fresh tomatoes.
Why is this especially a problem for institutions that are cooking for significant populations of children/students?
With institutional cooking, cooks are typically looking for how can they make the job efficient as possible. Opening cans and dumping them in and making sauces out of these canned products is often the best scenario. It is important for cooks to read the labels on products they are using. When I visited various kitchens in the Syracuse City School District, I discovered some easy changes that can be made. For instance, all of the butter they were using was salted. The question is: Why are you allowing a manufacturer to dictate how much sodium is going into your recipe just because you’re adding some butter? It is OK to eat butter occasionally, but why have sodium in it? Why shouldn’t you control the sodium? And something as simple as switching from salted to unsalted butter is a matter of awareness.
I think the hardest thing is convincing the actual workers who are preparing the food. They are worried that their job is just going to get harder. I can help them see—based on my experience—that not only can they reduce sodium, but they can make their lives easier at the same time. That is why this this workshop was successful for the Syracuse school district, which is working very hard to reduce sodium levels.
In the workshop, I modified one of my original sauces that I used to serve in restaurants. I just looked at it differently and was aware of what I was putting into it. I took a barbecue sauce and potentially reduced the sodium by 95 percent. I thought it was still delicious. The last seminar that I did was sort of a flavor burst looking at spices, concentrating on Southeast Asia. We were doing a lot of curries, and I was showing them how you can build flavors—using fresh herbs, using spice, using citrus—to make a dish really pop.
Could a shift in institutional cooking help influence a reduction of salt used in manufacturing?
The CDC’s aim in supporting these health department initiatives is to reduce sodium in food served to children and to inspire institutions to contact the representatives of these large manufacturers and say, “Can’t we get something that’s lower in sodium? Can’t we get something with no salt added?” And that is what you are starting to see. Ten years ago, you could not get no-salt-added ketchup in the grocery store, but it’s there now. It’s important to raise awareness of what is in these cans that we open and dump into things. And I think if everybody was a little bit more aware and demanded some changes from the manufacturers, they would give us what we want. We just need enough people to ask for it.
~ Brandon Dyer
A Syracuse University Story published on July 30, 2020.
Online June 10 symposium to address vulnerable populations during COVID-19
Falk College’s Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at Syracuse University will host an online symposium, “COVID-19-Vulnerable Populations and Food Access: A Food Justice and Human Rights Foundation for Community Food Security,” on June 10, 12:00-1:15 p.m.
The coronavirus pandemic has uncovered failings in our approach to emergency food programs such as subsidized school feeding. It has also revealed an alarming lack of support for underpaid, under-protected, and under-acknowledged food system workers, who are now labeled essential in the face of a crisis. A human rights-based approach to food justice recognizes both equality and compensation for social marginalization and discrimination. “By placing food access within a legal framework, governments can be held accountable for developing critical policies and processes focused on the rights, needs, and political participation of vulnerable populations,” says Professor Anne Bellows, one of the primary organizers of the event.
Moderator:
Rick Welsh
Chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies
Area of Specialty: U.S. food and agriculture policy and rural economic and social development.
Panelists:
Anne C Bellows
Area of Specialty: Human rights-based approach to food and nutrition security.
Chaya Charles
Area of Specialty: Dietary intake and nutritional status in adults.
Rachel Murphy
Presenting: How the Syracuse City School District School Food Authority implemented emergency feeding services in the midst of an unprecedented situation by leveraging USDA flexibilities, community partnerships and food system changes.
Laura Anne Minkoff-Zern
Area of Specialty: Food and racial justice, labor movements, transnational environmental and agricultural policy.
Food studies students honored for excellence, achievement
As it does each year, the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies recognizes its students with awards for outstanding achievements in academics, research, service and other areas of scholarship.
This year, on Friday, May 8th 2020, The Department of Nutrition and Food Studies united virtually to present awards to our undergraduate and graduate students and to celebrate all their significant accomplishments over the past academic year.
This meeting was a modification to the usual in-person end of the year ceremony which was converted to a virtual ceremony this year in order to manage the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 50 members of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies along with their families and friends, came together to attend the ceremony. The NFS awardees were celebrated for their wide range of impressive academic and community engagement accomplishments.
They have made great contributions in their areas of excellence, and we look forward to hearing about the value they contribute to the communities where they live and work. To all of our students, and especially the Class of 2020, we know you are ready to embrace the world that needs all you have to offer!
Award winners in the Food Studies program:
Chef’s Prize – Edward Crossman
This is awarded to a Food Studies major or minor who demonstrates exceptional ability in the culinary arts. This ability should also include food justice and community engagement goals of the Food Studies Program.
Food Studies Research Award – Maggie Toczko
This is awarded to a Food Studies major or minor who demonstrates exceptional ability in the culinary arts. This ability should also include food justice and community engagement goals of the Food Studies Program.
Food Studies Justice Award – Deborah Orieta
This is awarded to a Food Studies major or minor who demonstrates the ability to successfully address food justice-related issues through a variety of mediums.
Food Studies Community Engagement Award – Assata Cradle-Morgan
This is awarded to a Food Studies major or minor who demonstrates the ability to create or implement progressive food-based initiatives that engage diverse politics locally, nationally or internationally.
Food Studies Culture and Commensality Award – Neena Hussey
This is awarded is given to the Food Studies major who has expanded the Food Studies program to new audiences by sharing food knowledge and practice through social activism
Roseane do Socorro Gonçalves Viana Human Rights Awards:
Best Undergraduate Paper – Sierra Endreny
Best Graduate Papers – Chanel Gaude, Elizabeth Pickard, Gabriel Roth
This award is given to the best undergraduate and graduate papers on the human right to food, nutrition, and/or health. Roseane do Socorro Gonçalves Viana, Brazilian nutritionist and right to adequate food activist and writer, left a powerful message of hope and belief in the essential goodness of each and every person, of the need to take on our individual and collective responsibilities to ensure the welfare and dignity of all and for each and everyone, that all struggles are important and must be respected, and, most of all, that the voices of the affected must be heard.
Congratulations Class of 2020
Congratulations and best wishes to the Class of 2020 from the students, faculty, staff, advisory boards, alumni and friends of Falk College! The courage and resiliency you have demonstrated in these challenging times prove you are prepared to respond to society’s greatest needs. Now more than ever, our world needs all you have to offer. We look forward to hearing about your achievements as our newest Falk alumni and eagerly await the future in-person celebration at Falk Convocation and Syracuse University Commencement.
The Dean’s video message to the Class of 2020 was recorded late last year when we were fully expecting our traditional campus celebrations to take place this spring. Since then, the global coronavirus pandemic has impacted all of us in many difficult ways. We recognize how hard this has been for all of our students, and particularly the Class of 2020. While we will celebrate with you at distance for now, we look forward to celebrating together in person when it is safe to do so.
Join the Syracuse University community for the Class of 2020 Virtual Degree Conferral.
Where are they now? Food studies alumni excel on diverse career paths since 2014.
In 2010, one of the fastest-growing fields of study in North America was food studies. At that time, Falk College Dean, Diane Lyden Murphy, had a vision for future academic programs related to food focused on maximizing student opportunities in this area. In 2014, the college announced its new Bachelor of Science in Food Studies, which leveraged resources of the former hospitality management program, as well as intuitive academic collaborations with the nutrition and public health programs in Falk. The first graduate students enrolled in Falk’s Food Studies master program Fall 2015, and a Certificate of Advanced Studies following in 2016. New minors have also been established since that time, including the most recent in Sustainable Food Enterprises.
Food is universal. It impacts every aspect of life, both as a fundamental human need and as a primary component of society in business, culture, politics, and beyond.
Food studies at Syracuse University’s Falk College focuses on the social, political, economic, and environmental contexts of food production, manufacturing, distribution, and consumption—locally, nationally, and globally. Students of the program gain a deep understanding of food policy and governance, gastronomy, health outcomes of food systems, human nutrition, and food access. They also hone marketable skillsets in research, data collection, and analysis, as well as food preparation, presentation and the business of food.
Careers for food studies alumni are as wide-ranging as the issues food studies seeks to address. Some major career prospects include employment with government agencies at all levels dealing with food and agriculture issues; food-oriented non-governmental organizations that work on sustainability and food security issues; the health and wellness industry and food processing, preparation, service and distribution firms.
Falk College food studies alumni employment records show that graduates of the program are succeeding in many different chosen career paths. Here are just some of the job titles held by Falk College food studies alumni:
Business Management and Marketing
Food Studies alumni apply their subject matter expertise in business roles such as sustainability, research and development, logistics analysis, retail, finance, purchasing, supply chain management, communications, marketing, and others.
Employment with food manufacturing, food marketing, restaurants and hospitality businesses are obvious options, but food studies alumni are prepared to work with business in a variety of sectors, spanning health and wellness to travel and tourism.
Alumni job titles:
- Food Service Manager at a Fortune 200 global food and facilities services company (Aramark)
- Catering Assistant for an Illinois restaurant chain (LYFE Kitchen)
- Chef Consultant for a private university in New York State (Syracuse University)
- Social Media for a luxury boutique hotel business operating in several major U.S. cities (The Standard)
- Social Media and Communications Intern for a celebrity nutrition expert and author (Joy Bauer)
- Influencer Marketing Associate for a major U.S. meal kit service (HelloFresh)
- Restaurant Manager for a local farm-to-fork restaurant (3 Sisters Restaurant)
- Kitchen Manager at Upscale Bakery in NYC (Blackseed Bagel)
Government, Policy, and Research
Climate change. Human rights and food access. New agricultural technology and science. These and other major world issues are shaping food career opportunities in government, policy, and research. Food studies alumni work in U.S. government agencies, international governing bodies, and other institutions to help shape legislation, trade, regulation, urban and rural planning and development, and more.
Alumni job titles:
- Plant Protection and Quarantine Technician U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
- Supervisor for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
- Purchasing & Food Services Administrative Assistant for public school system in Massachusetts (Newton Public Schools)
- Food Sourcing Manager at a major U.S. university (University of San Francisco)
- Community Research Assistant at a university in Canada (University of Guelph)
Nonprofit Organizations
In the nonprofit setting, food studies alumni work in advocacy and service delivery to achieve important social objectives such as public health, environmental health, and fair trade.
Alumni job titles:
- Assistant Youthmarket Manager for a major environmental sustainability organization in New York City (GrowNYC, formerly the Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC))
- Ocean Policy Associate at an international environmental protection and advocacy organization (Earth Law Center)
- Nutrition Educator for a regional nonprofit public health institute in a major U.S. city (Public Health Corp)
- Public Policy Intern at a statewide anti-hunger organization (Project Bread)
- Intern for member of U.S. House of Representatives
- Food Blogger for an international health foundation (International Bipolar Foundation)
- Account Coordinator for a major U.S. city food bank (Greater Cleveland Food Bank)
- Case Manager II at a statewide homelessness alleviation organization (People Assisting the Homeless (PATH))
Advanced Degree Programs
Some alumni have used their food studies undergraduate degree as a foundation to pursue advanced degrees in health professions, social sciences, legal and policy approaches to food, among others.
Alumni academic pursuits:
- Nursing School (Southern Connecticut State)
- J.D. Law School (Vermont Law School)
- Master of Public Administration (U Penn, Rutgers)
- M.S. Food Studies (NYU, Syracuse)
- M.S. Nutrition Science (Syracuse)
- M.S. Marriage and Family Therapy (Syracuse University)
- Master in Education (Clarkson University)
Learn more about the Food Studies program.
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