Category Archives: Feature

Justin Kleppel

Justin Kleppel is a graduate student at UB completing his Master’s in Public Health. Originally from New York City, Justin has a deep passion for cities and the health outcomes of those who live in them. Prior to his Master’s, Justin completed his undergraduate degree in Public Health at the University at Buffalo. He aspires to fix food insecurity and health inequalities at the root and believes planning is a tool to accomplish this. Outside of the Food Lab, Justin enjoys coffee and sports. He is also an athlete competing internationally in track & field, and bobsled.

Post-doctoral position available in data sovereignty and food sovereignty

About the position

The University at Buffalo Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab (UB Food Lab) is thrilled to announce a two-year full-time postdoctoral position to join a project at the intersection of data sovereignty and food sovereignty. Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and supported by the School of Architecture and Planning, the project aims to close the gap between how communities seek to represent their food-related experiences and challenges, and how these are typically measured, reported, and visualized in food system data dashboards. We are especially focused on reducing intersecting data and food inequities experienced by Black, brown, and New American communities through the design of equitable data infrastructure. The team will prepare guidelines for developing data dashboards that are high quality and simultaneously both responsible and accountable to those most impacted by structural inequities in the food system. Read about the specific project with which this post-doc is associated here. 

The ideal candidate will possess a critical theoretical framework, robust methodological training, and deep experience in working on co-produced participatory action research projects. The selected candidate will work with a transdisciplinary research team including faculty, community advisors, and trainees. Candidates will produce academic and public facing scholarships including journal articles, toolkits, etc. Candidates with a broad range of methodological experience and interest are welcome; we value a broad range of epistemological approaches; qualitative, quantitative, and spatial analyses are welcome to apply. Candidates with experience with design of public facing data dashboards are encouraged to apply.

What we offer

We offer a supportive mentoring and collegial work environment. The post-doc position is located within the UB Food Lab and supported by a collegial faculty team including Drs. Samina Raja (primary mentor), Alex (Alexandra) Judelsohn, Alissa Ujie Diamond, and Mohamad Aly Etman. 

The UB Food Lab is a community-rooted and globally recognized transdisciplinary research group dedicated to research that critically examines the role of local government policy and planning in facilitating equitable, healthy, and sustainable communities. Our team focuses on the food system as a space and lever for change. We work on research that aims to make a difference in people’s lives by promoting food and health equity. We promote food and health equity by conducting and implementing research in partnership with community advocates and governments locally (in Buffalo and across the US) and in the Global South (with particular interest in Kashmir). We are especially committed to working with communities of color, immigrants and refugees, youth, and other marginalized groups. We offer technical assistance to local governments through the Growing Food Connections initiative housed in our lab. Read more about our work and our team here: http://foodsystemsplanning.ap.buffalo.edu/.  

Required Qualifications

Doctoral degree

Preferred Qualifications

  • Transdisciplinary training that intersects with data science, ethics, food systems, geospatial science, Indigenous studies, philosophy, public health, sociology, science and technology studies, urban and regional planning, or related fields
  • Outstanding record of scholarship at the intersection of data sovereignty and food sovereignty
  • Training and experience in working with publicly accessible data sets
  • Experience in or interest in co-produced approaches to designing and executing research in partnership with communities
  • Exceptional communication skills, especially in communicating complex concepts with clarity to a public audience

How to apply?

Submit your materials via UB jobs portal here: https://www.ubjobs.buffalo.edu/postings/55105 

The following materials are required:

  1. A cover letter (letter should describe how the advertised position aligns with candidate’s academic training, prior record of scholarship, and future ambitions)
  2. Curriculum vitae [include names and full contact information of three academic references]

Note: This portal for the position accepts applications for multiple post-doc positions on UB Campus. Please ensure that your materials clearly indicate that you are applying for a post-doc in the UB Food Lab. Label your files as “UB Food Lab_Cover Letter_Your Last Name” and “UB Food Lab_CV_Your Last Name”.

Timeline and process

Application due date: Immediately (until filled); interviews will begin Feb 15, 2025 

Position start date: September 01, 2025

Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed virtually by a search committee (Members include Samina Raja, Alex Judelsohn, Alissa Ujie Diamond, and Mohamad Aly Etman)

Questions?

For substantive questions about the position, please email UB Food Lab staff at: foodsystems@ap.buffalo.edu [Place “Data Equity for Food Equity Post-Doc” in subject line]. For questions about the job portal or other HR related questions please email School of Planning and Architecture staff Barb Carlson at carlsonb@buffalo.edu.

The post-doc appointment is through the Research Foundation for SUNY. Research Foundation for SUNY is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and welcomes all to apply including females, minorities, individuals with a disability, and protected veterans.  The RF does not discriminate against employees or applicants based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristics protected by applicable law.

Foraged Art Materials in So-Called Western New York

A zine titled Foraged Art Materials in So-Called Western New York, prepared by UB Food Lab faculty affiliate Professor Alissa Ujie Diamond, is an invitation for readers to explore foraged art materials. She writes, “‘fine’ art supplies, the kind you buy at the store will generally give you consistent, replicable, and stable effects. Foraged supplies are unpredictable: they change as they dry, fade, break, fray, color and shade-shift, get moldy, bubbly, are often pH reactive, act out when contained, get gassy on the shelf, and are all-around much more weird.” The zine includes a poem:

Foraging Poem (for Consideration)
by Alissa Ujie Diamond

Who belongs to this land?
Who does this land belong to?

How did you get here?
How did these plants get here?
What makes a place?
What makes a home?
Was I invited?

Did you know these plants are alive?
Did you bring anything to off er to them?
What do you need?
Do they need from you?

What is the right thing to say to a plant when
you ask for its leaves?
Excuse me? Thank you? Bless you? 

How will I know if fruits don’t want to be taken?

Download the free printable zine here: Foraged Art Materials [with print and assembly instructions]

UB’s Food Lab partners with prominent Kashmiri poet Zareef Ahmad Zareef to celebrate an important Indigenous green called haak

Zareef Ahmad Zareef
Zareef Ahmad Zareef, noted Kashmiri poet and environmentalist. Photo courtesy of Owais Zareef.

As highly processed foods make their way into Himalayan region of Kashmir, researchers at the University at Buffalo have taken a creative approach to raise awareness of haak (hāk), an important Indigenous green in the region that has been around for centuries. They’ve partnered with noted Kashmiri poet Zareef Ahmad Zareef as part of a public health campaign being shared in the region.

Food systems are increasingly recognized as a lever for promoting public health. Yet, the potential of Indigenous and community-based food systems for public health is often overlooked. Indigenous food systems are all the material and non-material relationships and resources — including the land, air, water, soil, and culturally important plant, animal, and fungi species — that have sustained Indigenous peoples over millennia.

The University at Buffalo Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab (UB Food Lab) is working with partners at the Sher-i-Kashmir Agricultural University of Science and Technology (SKUAST-Kashmir) to document, preserve and plan for stronger Indigenous and community-based food systems. In particular, the UB Food Lab — housed within UB’s School of Architecture and Planning — is focused on documenting and preserving ways to protect haak, a type of kale (brassica oleracea var. varidis) that has been grown in Kashmir and sustained the population.  Research partners at SKUAST-Kashmir, led by Khalid Masoodi, point to preliminary in-vitro results that suggest that haak may offer protections against particular diseases (kale contains polyphenols, carotenoids, glucosinolates’ hydrolysis products and vitamins C and E that show antioxidant activity). An affordable, nutritious and culturally celebrated green, haak has served as a nutritional safety net during times of conflict in the region, a fact documented by Food Lab team including Samina Raja, Alex Judelsohn, Athar Parvaiz and others in the Journal of the American Planning Association (Raja et al, 2023).

Despite its cultural importance and public health potential, haak is competing with the arrival of (less healthy) hyper-processed foods via globalized food chains in Kashmir. Indeed, preliminary data from the research team suggests that the frequency of consumption of haak among younger generations is lower than that among older generations — a trend that the interdisciplinary team aims to counter with a new public education campaign that draws on the power of poetry.

Commissioned by the UB Food Lab, a new poem, titled “Haake Naame,” or “An Ode to Haak” by Zareef Ahmad Zareef draws attention to the historical and cultural significance of haak. An award-winning writer, poet and environmentalist, Zareef has a significant following among Kashmiris, including tens of thousands of followers on social media. Although he has composed widely on Kashmir’s history and culture, Zareef notes that he has not written about haak. Two years ago, conversations with the UB Food Lab team  inspired him to write about haak. Says Raja: “I am grateful for Mr. Zareef’s unmatched creativity and understanding of Kashmiri foodways. His poem will draw Kashmiris’ attention to the public health potential of haak in ways that a scientific journal article cannot. Art and science have to collectively work to promote health and food equity.”

Written and recited in the Kashmiri language for a Kashmiri audience, “Haake Naame” draws attention to haak’s centrality to Kashmiri life and well-being. Watch and share. 

Faithwin Gbadamos

Faithwin Gbadamos is a PhD student in the Department of Geography. Her research is centered on the nexus of sustainability, health, and development. Her research seeks to answer questions about environmental degradation linked to food security, livelihood impacts, and adaptation strategies. She uses the power of geospatial analysis to gain insights into the relationship between spatial dynamics and social factors. At the Food lab, Faithwin is responsible for tasks involving geographic information.

Prior to starting her PhD, Faithwin explored diverse sectors, including energy and telecommunications, providing her with firsthand insights into these sectors and the critical need for sustainable practices. This experience solidified her unwavering commitment to environmental sustainability and health. Faithwin graduated from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria with a bachelor’s degree in Geography.

Growing Food Connections Local Government Policy Database 

The Growing Food Connections Local Government Policy Database is a searchable collection of local public policies that explicitly support community food systems. This database provides policymakers, government staff, and others interested in food policy with concrete examples of local public policies that have been adopted to address a range of food systems issues: rural and urban food production, farmland protection, transfer of development rights, food aggregation and distribution infrastructure, local food purchasing and procurement, healthy food access, food policy councils, food policy coordination, food system metrics, tax reductions and exemptions for food infrastructure, and much more.

Local Government Food Policy Database

Local Government Food Policy Database: 

Growing Food Connections

The Growing Food Connections Local Government Policy Database is a searchable collection of local public policies that explicitly support community food systems. This database provides policymakers, government staff, and others interested in food policy with concrete examples of local public policies that have been adopted to address a range of food systems issues: rural and urban food production, farmland protection, transfer of development rights, food aggregation and distribution infrastructure, local food purchasing and procurement, healthy food access, food policy councils, food policy coordination, food system metrics, tax reductions and exemptions for food infrastructure, and much more.

Local Public Policy

The Growing Food Connections team defines local public policy as: a course of municipal, county or regional government action in response to public problems or issues.

Policy Types

This database includes a range of policies such as local laws, ordinances, resolutions, motions, orders, and directives, as well as plans, standards, guidelines, tax exemptions and other public financing policies. Policies span different geographic regions, sizes of government, rural and urban contexts, and public issues. In addition to general information about policy type, topic and adoption date, the database includes policy documents, or the adopted policy language for each policy. When available, this database also lists information about the adopting, implementing, and supporting public agencies and non-governmental organizations; funding amount and sources; and policy outcomes – initiatives, programs, projects and other actions enabled, established or supported by the policy.

Submit A Policy From Your Community

Help your community be recognized! If your community has adopted a local or regional government policy that impacts the food system, submit it for inclusion in the database. We are only able to include policies that have been officially adopted by a local government (municipality or county) in the United States.

Policies can be submitted by completing this form.

What about food systems plans and policies adopted outside of the United States?

If you are interested in sub-national policies that are being adopted outside of the United States, please visit this Global Database hosted by the University at Buffalo and RUAF Foundation.

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 This database is continually updated. Policies included in this database have not been evaluated. Population categories are based on USDA’s Rural-Urban Continuum Codes.  The database is the intellectual property of the University at Buffalo and partners. 

Local Government Food Policy Database

What do people need to know before they can transform municipal food policies?

New research by UB Food Lab member Carol E Ramos-Gerena in the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2023.122.008

INTRODUCTION

Food policies should be informed by those who they intend to serve, but policy-making processes remain exclusive to privileged voices, knowledge, and experiences. This article bridges food and policy scholarship with the critical literacy work of Paulo Freire to answer: how do we understand literacies tied to food policy? What does (or, what could) it mean to be food policy literate? In a new JAFSCD article, Carol E. Ramos-Gerena proposes five principles for conceptualizing critical food policy literacy that support food system transformations. 

KEY FINDINGS

The paper suggests that efforts to promote critical food policy literacy must facilitate communities to (a) “read the world,” (b) “read the word,” (c) be critically aware of food policy processes and systems, (d) learn contextually and through authentic practice, and (e) enable people to negotiate and transform the world (their context) collectively. 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY, PRACTICE, AND RESEARCH

Possessing knowledge on engaging with food policy processes is not commensurate with actual engagement. Thus, structural barriers to community participation must also be addressed. Food system planners and educators, particularly at the municipal level, should support locally-based citizen food organizations to engage in food policy. This support must go beyond assessing communities’ food policy literacy. Instead, it must intend to bridge the gap to ensure critical readiness for food policy engagement. 

For questions and suggestions, contact us at foodsystems@ap.buffalo.edu.

Lanika Sanders

Lanika recently received her master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University at Buffalo. Her interests—which lie at the junction of sustainable agriculture and food equity—grew throughout her time at St. Lawrence University, where she interned on small-scale farms and with local food equity nonprofits before graduating with a Bachelor’s in Environmental Studies and Sociology. She then spent two service years working to address food inequities in the U.S., investigating and employing urban agriculture as a means of building community resilience. This work sparked Lanika’s interest in food policy, reaffirming her interest in designing healthier, more equitable cities, and inspiring her to pursue a specialization in Food Systems and Community Health during her time at UB.