Experts from The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), National School Lunch Program/School Breakfast Program (NSLP/SBP), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) explore the interconnectedness of nutrition assistance programs and their impacts across the lifespan. Panelists discuss the current landscape, challenges, and opportunities for advocacy, particularly for nonprofit organizations navigating policy engagement. The session concludes with a discussion on steps for participants to support and advocate for these vital programs in their communities.

Lori Wallach (she/her), Director of Rethink Trade, joins CSPI's Healthy Retail Policy Team to lead an engaging and collaborative webinar session around the impacts of Trump’s tariffs on healthy food access. Specifically, this session covers: what tariffs are and how they work; the impact of Trump’s tariffs on the food system; and what actions you can take to protect healthy food access.

This dynamic panel of religious leaders explores the deep connections between food, faith, and justice. Panelists reflect on how their traditions speak to care for the marginalized, the sacred role of food, and the moral imperative to act. They share stories of how faith communities are addressing hunger, health, and environmental concerns, and how policy change can support culturally and religiously appropriate food access.

This robust panel of organizational leaders shares about the ways community advisory boards provide a space for feedback and insights into their organizations while strengthening the capacity of the participants. Community advisory boards (CABs) are made up of community stakeholders that provide input, feedback, and personal experiences to inform an organization, a project, or a research study. By bringing together these crucial community perspectives, organizations that host CABs also offer an opportunity to the participants to build leadership and advocacy capacity. This panel features four organizational leaders as they discuss how their nonprofit organizations facilitate CABs and how they build power through these spaces.

This session dives into CSPI's online grocery marketing scorecard, which analyzes the marketing practices and website usability of the top online food retailers in the U.S. We share findings and recommendations for corporate, policymakers, and researchers to decrease unhealthy food marketing, increase healthy food marketing, and make healthy food choices online accessible for all.

Dr. Ashanté Reese leads a discussion on why the food system is broken for Black Americans. When it comes to nutrition, Black consumers experience an unjust and inequitable distribution of resources. This stimulating conversation dives into the structural forces that determine food access in urban areas, highlighting Black residents’ navigation of and resistance to unequal food distribution systems.

Whether lobbying your state legislature or at the US Capitol, planning is key. We cover the primary topics that everyone should be aware of and walk you through what to expect during meetings. Learn how to craft compelling messages, engage key offices, and strategies for maximum impact. Our expert-led session includes real-world examples, best practices, and a Q&A to help you tailor your approach. This webinar is intended for those who are new to legislative advocacy or want to brush up on strategies to make your lobbying efforts more impactful.

FDA took 35 years to finally ban the carcinogenic dye, Red 3. But, what about the remaining synthetic dyes and plethora of other dangerous food chemicals? Will FDA have the staff, funding, and the political will to stand up to the food chemical industry? Learn how New York’s Food Safety and Chemical Disclosure Act takes critical steps to protect us against dangerous chemicals.

This session provides an overview of the DGA and their impact on programs like the National School Lunch Program, Thrifty Food Plan, SNAP packages, SNAP-Ed, and the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). We share key advocacy priorities for the final DGA and offer guidance on submitting comments. ANYONE can submit feedback on these critical recommendations, which guide billions of dollars in federal food procurement and shape individual dietary choices. Whether you’re new to the process or an experienced advocate, this webinar equips you with the knowledge and tools to make your voice heard in developing the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines.

This webinar explores how predatory marketing disproportionately impacts communities of color and economically disadvantaged populations, contributing to health disparities. This discussion examines fast food marketing’s societal impacts, historical roots, and the importance of policies like PMPA, offering strategies to create a healthier, more equitable food environment.

CSPI has previously reported on carcinogenic food dye Red 3 and other dangerous food chemicals hiding in Halloween candies. This webinar discusses how consumers can protect themselves now, and how organizations can join advocacy work to apply pressure on further states to ban these dangerous food additives.

Dollar stores have garnered increased attention from community members and policy makers across the country in recent years due to their high density in low socio-economic status communities and associated public health concerns. In the last five years, many municipalities have passed policies that aim to curb dollar store proliferation and improve their food offerings. Importantly, most of those policies were enacted as a result of community organizing and advocacy for policy action. This webinar will cover how researchers and policy makers are working together on this issue, as well as provide updates on current research activities and recent local policy action.

In the United States, 1.9 million people are incarcerated in prison or jail, and 4.9 million are previously incarcerated in state or federal prison. Incarcerated people depend on facility food service for their nutritional needs, which often go unmet. This webinar discusses the current landscape of carceral nutrition, opportunities and barriers, and ongoing advocacy efforts to improve nutrition standards in prisons and jails nationwide, featuring CSPI’s partnership with the Coalition for Carceral Nutrition.

Explore how the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County (FBSBC) takes a holistic approach to health and food education. Using a wide range of services, tools, and community knowledge, FBSBC aims to change the conversation around diet culture by addressing health disparities and social determinants of health. Discover the risks of developing disordered eating behaviors and experiencing weight stigma, and learn why language, empowerment, and joyful eating are important. Delve into the role of food and food banks in supporting mental wellness for students and neighbors, emphasizing fun and empowering education for people of all cultural backgrounds and body sizes. See how Foodboss HQ creates an experience titled “Where Every Bite is a Nutritious Celebration of Health, Diversity, and Empowerment” in collaboration with key partners.

Explore what nutrient warnings are, how they are implemented in restaurant settings, and the rationale behind their use. This webinar also examines how local nutrient warnings have influenced state and federal policy, paving the way for broader regulatory changes and setting precedents for future health initiatives. We also discuss the obstacles faced in the adoption and implementation of nutrient warnings, alongside success stories that highlight positive outcomes, and opportunities for advocacy and community engagement.

This presentation focuses on how organizations can start their own advocacy training programs geared towards community members and constituents with lived experience. Staff from the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano share some history of their advocacy training program. The webinar highlights the Speaker Series and the Community Advocacy Partnership program, and how they have grown and progressed over the last eight years. Finally, the webinar includes a discussion on how to keep advocates engaged using best practices for an effective program.

Kimberly Acosta, Food Policy Analyst for the City of New Haven’s Food System Policy Division (FSPD), leads an engaging presentation outlining important insight from her work managing the inclusive, community-led process to create New Haven's first Urban Agriculture Master Plan. Kimberly shares the FSPD values-based approach to collaborating with residents, especially those who are from disinvested communities, to create and advance community-rooted solutions to food system inequities in New Haven, Connecticut.

Have you ever felt bombarded by too many food options and mixed nutrition advice online? Dr. Fernandez is here to help. She delves into how the internet and new technologies are revolutionizing our food shopping and conversations, and how this impacts our health. In today's world, where convenience foods are everywhere, we never seem to have enough time, and stress is on the rise, making healthy food choices seems harder than ever. Dr. Fernandez is on a mission to simplify this, developing practical strategies to guide us through the maze of modern food choices and make preparing healthy meals easier in our busy lives.

Our partners at the West Virginia Food and Farms Coalition (WVFFC) highlight their ongoing practices for engaging legislation in food policy supporting local food systems and farmers. This webinar is led by Spencer Moss, Executive Director, and Cordel Bostic, Communications and Legislative Policy Coordinator, with the WVFFC. With a strong focus on relationship-building, the WVFFC provides leadership to the local food and farm sector across the state. This informative session covers: (1) The capacity building and encouragement WVFFC provides to the rural food system in WV, (2) How to connect those in community to the policymakers of the state, and (3) What community lead policy change looks like.

Teens for Food Justice (TFFJ) is building a food-secure future through school-based, youth-led hydroponic farming, providing local, sustainably-grown produce to food insecure communities and building health, education, and opportunity equity for all New Yorkers and beyond. Join us as we discuss our work engaging young people with policymaking, advocacy, and community engagement. We explore the impact of Teens for Food Justice's school-based hydroponic farming programs, share best practices and challenges for supporting youth with policy and advocacy, and spotlight our recent initiative, an eight-week food policy internship program for NYC high school students.

Te’Jal Cartwright, owner and lead story coach of Lore Storytelling, discusses strategic story preparation, crafting compelling stories, navigating potential harm, utilizing platforms effectively, and providing resources for trauma and healing. Te'Jal, a story coach, media, and journalism expert, is the visionary founder of "What's the Biz with TJ," a digital platform amplifying the stories of Black-owned businesses nationwide. With over 150 businesses in Dayton alone benefiting from increased visibility, Te'Jal's platform has made impactful connections with organizations all over the US.

Whether your organization is just dipping its toes into social media or if you've been on social media for a while and are looking to step your game up, this session will dive deep into the strategies and tools your organization can use to expand the reach of your message using social media.

In this interactive and collaborative space facilitated by Jane Welna, Director of Development at CSPI, attendees share experiences and skills to improve our efforts to identify funding prospects and cultivate funder relationships. The discussion also explores opportunities where CSPI can be of help with networking and securing financial security through fundraising.

Join Jeff Cronin, CSPI's Senior Director of Communications, for a training session on the basics of media relations as it relates to advocacy. This session covers budget-friendly media relations practices, conducting effective media interviews, and presentation tips considering the changing landscape of the media industry.

Join us for this workshop, where we delve into the power of "Power Mapping" as a strategic tool for community advocacy. Discover how this essential skill helps in comprehending power dynamics and empowers communities to enact positive change. View this session to learn and practice the skills necessary to create and utilize power maps to drive your campaign.

In this Resource Hub Training, we explore the impact of the stories we tell. During this gathering, we share the Four Stories Model and encourage participants to reflect on the narrative change work needed within the nutrition and health space.

Diasporas are large displacements of people from their homeland. Such a disruption transforms lives; it shapes the place people subsequently reside in, it changes the ways they engage people in their new community and their connection to their homeland, and it transforms the ways people eat, work, and play. Join us for a panel discussion as we examine how diaspora influences the way people experience food and community.

Dr. Truphena Choti is the Founder and CEO of AfriThrive, an organization committed to empowering African immigrant and minority communities through food justice and skills development. AfriThrive operates at the intersection of nutrition, community empowerment, and health equity, delivering culturally appropriate foods to the African Diaspora and building skills among the youth.

This event covers culturally specific foodways, community-building practices, food justice and food sovereignty priorities and how they relate to advocating for policy change, and ways public health advocates can better understand and respond to the unique challenges and opportunities for food systems change in Indigenous Communities.

This event covers the importance of food in the LGBTQIA+ community, modes of engagement and power-building, and some of the challenges and opportunities present in community partners' work.

This event discusses the Behind the Carton report, which examines the nutritional quality of milk products sold to schools by some of the largest US dairy companies. The report analyzes unflavored and flavored milk products to determine whether they meet evidence-based school meal nutrition standards for sodium, added sugars, low-calorie sweeteners, and synthetic dyes.

Join the Food Culture Collective to discuss the power of story, the importance of cultural narratives, and the power of food culture narratives for healing and transformation.

This event covers Indigenous food history, traditional foods, revitalization, entrepreneurship, and relevant policies.

This event covers: a primer of school meals, the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), and the School Breakfast Program (SBP); the development of programs to support child nutrition; and key training resources and technical assistance.