Jul 8

Welcome to the Food Policy Debrief, where we shed much-needed light on how corporations and organizations can engage with progressive food policy—and break down the chaos that is currently the U.S. food system.

Join us once a month as we provide approachable news updates, demystify policy, and provide opportunities for advocacy in a way that won’t leave you with a headache.

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TL;DR

Open letters, more companies go MAHA, and a big win for WIC
A new bill aims to make SNAP easier to access for (eligible) college students
AAA partnered with WHO?!
The Kids Are (Still) Alright

This Month’s Standout Food Stories

More brands go MAHA: General Mills and Kraft Heinz announced they are removing artificial colors from some U.S. products.

A different kind of meat company: ButcherBox released an open letter to Congress calling on them to protect animal welfare legislation (BTW, ButcherBox are friends of the FPD team).

The Mayors Fund to End Childhood Hunger (yes, it exists!) launched an action fund—in partnership with Share Our Strength and funded by Dollar Tree—to provide grant dollars to local communities.

Monthly dose of positive news: A grocery store that exclusively stocks WIC-approved products opened in Texas.

Canned goods prices may increase because of tariffs on steel, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Goodr opened a free grocery store inside a hospital on the South Side of Chicago.

👀 Policy Movement We’re Tracking

✂️ As you probably saw, the “Big Beautiful Bill” passed both the House and Senate, meaning historically unprecedented cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, climate programs, and more are set to occur (UGH is an understatement.).

🧑‍🌾 With the BBB battle over, Congress is now gearing up to restart Farm Bill conversations, and with the Reconciliation bill out of the way, they might be more contentious than ever… send help.

🤦 And once the Senate is back in session July 14th, they’ll take up the House-passed rescissions package for FY 2025 that could make some of the proposed DOGE cuts a reality.

🎓 Opportunity to Address College Hunger Act: If you’re a long-time reader of the newsletter (we see you and we love you), you may remember this bill from last year that helps eligible college students access SNAP benefits. The good news: It was reintroduced in June by Representatives Bonamici (D-OR) and Takano (D-CA). P.S. The FPD team was excited to have supported the introduction of this bill via our advocacy!

**How You Can Progress Food Policy This Month**

📧 Especially with the passage of the Budget bill earlier this month, food banks are bracing for impact. This might be time to set up a recurring donation or take on a weekly volunteer shift at your local food bank or pantry.

Social Impact Spotlight

Shedding light on companies leading by example and engaging in the food system in a meaningful way

**AAA (yes, the roadside-assistance company) launches partnership with Feeding America**
You read that right: AAA announced it would be partnering with Feeding America to activate a grassroots giving campaign spanning local communities across the U.S. with a goal of providing at least 3.5 million meals to people in need. The roadside-service membership program shared that food donation boxes will be available in all 65 branches and administrative offices across the AAA Northeast, and its employees will volunteer at local food banks across the region to prepare food for those in need and stock shelves at pantries.

The goal of the campaign is to utilize the widespread membership of AAA to raise awareness of food insecurity, particularly among school-aged children. The company also said it announced the partnership specifically on June 23, as it’s a week where many students are out of school and therefore may be without food. We’re all for non-traditional voices using their platform, reach, and dollars to improve the food system! Learn more about the partnership here.

Pass the Mic:
Gen Z Leaders Have Something to Say

The idea that young people are the future isn’t revolutionary. Younger generations—particularly students—have often been at the center of influential cultural moments (i.e. Vietnam War, Apartheid South Africa).

Most of us learn about these efforts in classrooms, or maybe some of our readers were there to witness them. Regardless, there’s something universally transferrable from decade to decade, and that is the untethered, seemingly unending passion that exudes from young folks seeing a system that isn’t working.

The Food Policy Debrief team was lucky enough to witness this emergent energy first-hand at the 2025 Gen Z Food & Hunger Summit, hosted by Food Systems Collaborative (two-thirds of this newsletter team, with the other third being a very big fangirl) and the Congressional Hunger Center. At this two-day event, over 30 college students and recent graduates (members of Generation Z) from across the country gathered to learn how to be an advocate for a better food system.

The summit, in its third year, included hands-on training sessions (provided by yours truly) where folks learned how to conduct effective advocacy meetings, explored legislation related to food security, and then met with 28 Congressional offices in Washington, D.C. to share how food insecurity affects their communities. The goal: Show people that advocacy is not as scary as it seems, and just how much impact you can have when you raise your voice.

Participants advocated for one of the following legislative priorities: The Opportunity to Address College Hunger Act (mentioned above), the necessity of funding for global food assistance programs, or SNAP (against proposed funding cuts in the reconciliation bill). These topics were selected in collaboration with our partner organizations, which included the Farmlink Project, Food Recovery Network, IFAD, RESULTS, and more.

Let’s be real: The world has a lot to say about Generation Z (enough with the think-pieces, we’re begging) but honestly, Gen-Z has a lot to say about the world. These advocates were buzzing with excitement and passion for the issues at stake and held steadfast as they met with staffers on some contentious topics.

I know it’s trite to say it was inspiring, but it was lowkey really inspiring.

Each month, we come into your inbox and tell you a range of ways to advocate, but we know it can feel like shouting in the void. Seeing these young folks energized about the pathways to advocacy (yes, you can just ask for a meeting with your congressional representative’s office to talk about what matters to you!) served as a much-needed reminder that we can’t take these opportunities for granted.

So whether you were 20 years old twenty years ago (or more!), or you are 20 right now, think about the feeling you had (or have) about not just the future, but your role in it. About how everything seemed feasible. About how your voice, your concerns needed to be heard—and carry that with you as we continue to fight some uphill battles in the food system. And remember that wins are happening everywhere (shoutout Zohran Mamdani!) and being led by young people. Let’s get behind them.

Anyways, don’t just take it from us. Here are some reflections from this year’s Summit participants:

“Amid everything happening domestically and abroad, the opportunity to engage in direct advocacy was not only inspiring but also gave me so much relief. It felt incredible to hear from leaders in the food justice field and learn how they are putting in the work to ensure we have a future worth fighting for—and we can, too. It felt amazing to connect with other young people who share this passion for the food system that impacts our daily lives and the lives of those we love.”
–Ure Emejuru
“At the 2025 Gen Z Food & Hunger Summit in D.C, I was honored to advocate against cuts to SNAP funding, especially with the unique opportunity to represent my state in both of our senators’ offices. The experience provided me a wealth of insight on the policymaking process and the value of constituent insight and has indelibly impacted the ways I will advocate for and interact with food justice.”
—Damien Garcia-Myhr

“My experiences at the Gen Z Food & Hunger Summit were nothing short of transformational. Sitting at a table with staffers advocating for SNAP’s preservation, I came to appreciate through fresh eyes the importance of these conversations. The summit helped me connect the dots between identifying a national-scale problem and working to fix it—a lesson I find all the more important given the recent barrage of governmental changes.”
—Grace Gray

P.S. Shoutout to all the friends of the FPD team who volunteered at the event and helped make it possible. Always lovely to see you IRL (vs. just your icon in a Google Doc).