Events Calendar

The Seventh Annual Science of Health Equity Summit: Partnerships in Food Systems

Wednesday, April 5 at the College of Public Health

Presentation of the Sprince Zwerling Award for Social Justice

12:15 – 12:30 p.m.

N110 CPHB— Callaghan Auditorium

The 2023 Sprince Zwerling Award for Social Justice will be presented to a graduate student in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health with interests in promoting health equity and social justice. The 2023 Sprince Zwerling Award for Social Justice recipient will be presented their award by Dean Edith Parker.

Keynote presentation by Dr. Ellen W. Harris- “Forging Partnerships Through a Career in Food, Nutrition and Agriculture”

12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

The HEAL Keynote address will now be presented via Zoom and streamed in-person in the Callaghan Auditorium (N110 CPHB) for CPH’s Spotlight.

The 2023 summit will kick off on Wednesday, April 5, headlined by keynote speaker Ellen W. Harris, PhD, Executive Director for the Institute for Food & Development Policy, better known as Food First. Dr. Harris’s extensive experience within food systems will be highlighted through her presentation titled, “Forging Partnerships Through a Career in Food, Nutrition and Agriculture.” This event is part of the College of Public Health’s Spotlight Series.

Dr. Ellen W. Harris is the Executive Director for the Institute for Food & Development Policy, better known as Food First.

She has a BS in Biology from Antioch College, Mississippi, in Nutrition Sciences from Texas Woman’s University at Houston, and a DrPH with an emphasis in public health nutrition and epidemiology from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health at Houston. She taught Community Nutrition at Drexel University for six years. For two years, she was a Congressional Fellow with the Select Committee on Hunger, U.S. House of Representatives through the Congressional Black Caucus. That experience led her to USDA in 1990 where she was in federal service for 32-plus years as a Program Analyst at the Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Analysis and Evaluation; Branch Chief, Food Consumption Research Branch, Nutrition Monitoring Division (NMD), Human Nutrition Information Service (HNIS); and NMD Director where she managed Food Consumption Research, Survey Systems, and Nutrient Data Branches. At the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center (BHNRC), Agricultural Research Service (ARS) she served as the BHNRC Assistant Director; established and served as BHNRC Community Nutrition Research Group Research Leader and later served as Associate Center Director and Acting Center Director.

Dr. Harris was a Fulbright Senior Scholar and taught nutrition at the University of Zimbabwe in 2001 and a Fulbright Senior Specialist in 2009 advising on nutrition curriculum and research at the School of Nutrition, University of Antioquia, Medellin, Columbia. Dr. Harris created, coordinated, and convened the USDA Food and Nutrition Summer Institute between 1999-2006 with partners throughout USDA, NIH, CDC, USAID, and FDA. They worked with nutrition students and faculty at the 1890s Historically Black Colleges and Universities for all eight years and Tribal Colleges with nutrition and/or nursing programs for two of those years. Dr. Harris graduated from the USDA Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program and was certified in in the Senior Executive Service in 2009. From 2010 to 2011, she served as a Senior Nutrition Advisor for the Collaborative Research Support Program, Bureau for Food Security, USAID (through ARS PASA Program) and was responsible for scientific program management of a portfolio with four university partners and one for-profit nongovernment organization conducting research in Uganda and Nepal. Upon her return to ARS, she served as Acting Associate Area Director for the former South Atlantic Area; Associate Center Director for the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center and then its Center Director. Dr. Harris retired as the Associate Area Director for the Southeast Area, ARS, USDA, having served in that capacity for five years where she helped support and direct agricultural research programs in eight states (AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC) and Puerto Rico. She served a total of 32 years and 8 months of federal service with USDA.

Dr. Harris was born and raised in Houston. She resides in Greenville, Mississippi. She is a mother and grandmother. In her spare time, Ellen is a certified 500-hour experienced yoga instructor and Thai Yoga massage practitioner, who aspires to grow much of her food year-round at her Three Blessings Yoga Farm and Wellness Center.

Community panel: “Promoting equitable food systems”

2 – 3 p.m.

C217 CPHB

The “Promoting equitable food systems” panel discussion will feature professionals from local and state organizations currently working within Iowa’s food system. Panelists will provide insight on how their organizations fit into the larger system and how they are able to promote health equity within their work. Panelists include representatives from Feed Iowa First, the North Liberty Community Pantry, and Grow: Johnson County.

Feed Iowa First is a grass-roots community of businesses, faith organizations, schools, farmers and volunteers that unite in relationship-based service to help our neighbors to "Combat Food Insecurity by Growing Food and Farmers." They believe access to fresh, healthy produce can and does transform lives. Fresh, healthy food is a basic human right, and ensuring access to it is key to building vibrant communities where citizens can reach their full human potential.

The North Liberty Community Pantry exists to engage our community in feeding, clothing and connecting our neighbors to resources and services. The Pantry is an outreach ministry of the First United Methodist Church of North Liberty, but the service area and support are community wide. Our primary focus is North Liberty and surrounding rural areas of Johnson County. Since its creation in 1985, the organization has seen rapid growth as a result of three factors: increasing awareness of the Pantry, increasing population growth in North Liberty, and increasing economic need. The pantry now serves over 700 local families and is regularly distributing more than 400,000 pounds of material goods from food, toiletries, to laundry detergent and clothing.

Grow: Johnson County is a hunger-relief and educational farm initiative located at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm. Started in 2015, Grow: Johnson County is a community-focused educational farm located on the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm in Iowa City, Iowa. Sitting on five acres of farmland, we train growers through hands-on farming experiences for all ages and backgrounds. All the produce grown on the farm is distributed to local food pantries. Since the program began, Grow has donated over 160,000 pounds of fresh produce to community partners.

Event is free to public and all University affiliates. Community involvement is encouraged.