[Video] Organizations as Gatekeepers in the Food System

Amira is a native of Roxbury, Massachusetts, where her lived experience shaped her passion in public health and social justice. She attended Northeastern University where she received her BS in health sciences with a minor in global health and Masters of Public Health. Amira first became interested in food justice during her undergraduate years when she volunteered at a local community center and taught nutrition lessons to low-income residents in Roxbury and provided food vouchers for families. Following this, she was a fellow in the Getting to Zero Health Initiative, AIDS Action where she worked in promoting community engagement in legislation that targets improving the access to comprehensive health education in marginalized populations. She plans to employ her experience in health policy, advocacy, and program planning to work on anti-poverty and anti-hunger initiatives that ameliorates health outcomes in minority and low-income communities.

Morgan is originally from Ohio and graduated from Duke University with degrees in global health and public policy. During her childhood she split her time between living on a farm in rural Ohio with her father’s side of the family and in a small town just outside of Columbus with her mother. Over the past few years, she has worked as a research assistant with Duke Global Women’s Health Technologies to make cervical cancer screening more accessible for underserved women in Peru and the United States, sparking a more broad passion for social justice work. While food has always played a central role in her life, it was not until the Covid-19 pandemic that she pursued interests in food systems as a space connecting people to their physical and social environments and a fundamental intersection to a plethora of social issues, driving her interest in sustainable food supply chains.

Amira is a native of Roxbury, Massachusetts, where her lived experience shaped her passion in public health and social justice. She attended Northeastern University where she received her BS in health sciences with a minor in global health and Masters of Public Health. Amira first became interested in food justice during her undergraduate years when she volunteered at a local community center and taught nutrition lessons to low-income residents in Roxbury and provided food vouchers for families. Following this, she was a fellow in the Getting to Zero Health Initiative, AIDS Action where she worked in promoting community engagement in legislation that targets improving the access to comprehensive health education in marginalized populations. She plans to employ her experience in health policy, advocacy, and program planning to work on anti-poverty and anti-hunger initiatives that ameliorates health outcomes in minority and low-income communities. Special thanks to The Kroger Co. Foundation for their support of Margaux's placement, and to Tyson Foods, Inc. for their support of Emma's placement.