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Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences

CFAES

How COVID-19 Impacted Food Systems

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of our food supply system. While national-level responses to our food supply revealed a lot of weaknesses, the hyper-local response to feeding our communities demonstrated great strength in our mutual aid networks. The foundations of food justice include the belief that food is a human right. In Columbus and Franklin County, we have a strong network of community organizations that lead the charge in feeding our neighbors in need of food, especially those that are underserved and underrepresented.

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About the speaker:

Light brown skinned woman smiling with long dark hair, purple sweaterKarima Samadi has engaged in food systems work for over 15 years, in various programs ranging from child obesity prevention to food and agricultural education, to food insecurity research. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Food Science from the University of Kentucky, and master’s degree in Public Health from The Ohio State University.

After nearly 10 years at OSU in food security research coordination and research translation, she recently began working as a Policy Analyst at Columbus Public Health in the Center for Public Health Innovation - Policy, Research, and Evaluation section. In this role, she works to advance policy, programs, and services that advance health and equity, with a particular focus on reducing health disparities, raising the life expectancy of the community, and racism as a public health crisis. She engages in multiple policy areas with a main focus on the food system. Through all this, Karima continues to advance the work of the Columbus and Franklin County Local Food Action plan, and bolsters the efforts to improve food access, food equity, and food justice.