Newsletters
What's On The Menu? Harvest New Ideas This Fall!
October 29, 2026
Looking for a course that connects your interests to the world around you? Explore GFI’s spring course catalog, covering everything from food policy and culinary diplomacy to journalism and regenerative agriculture.
A new test for California's school meals
October 28, 2026
California is showing what it takes to make school meals healthier—not just by setting higher standards, but by giving schools the resources to meet them. As we emphasize in GFI's recent brief on reducing added sugars in children's diets, strong nutrition standards need to go hand in hand with the resources schools need to meet them.
What's On the Menu? September Edition
September 29, 2026
World on A Plate, a course designed by world-renowned chef and humanitarian José Andrés, explores the many ways in which food intersects with public health, politics, science, industry, culture, and more. This semester, the course is opening the guest lecture series to the entire GW community.
Who's struggling to afford food—and how do we know?
September 24, 2026
When household budgets get stretched, food is often one of the few expenses families can adjust. Rent is due, utilities have to be paid, and health care can’t always wait. So when income falls short or costs rise, families often have little choice but to spend less on food.
What if school meals could strengthen food systems?
August 27, 2026
What if school meals could feed children while also strengthening the food systems around them? That question is at the heart of GFI’s newest research project located in Haiti’s Central Plateau.
What's On the Menu? Back-to-School Student Newsletter
August 26, 2026
Find us and our partners at Welcome Week!
A SNAP Penalty That Could Backfire
July 22, 2026
In a new brief, One Year Later, GFI and the Center for Science in the Public Interest examine what has happened since to the nation's food safety net.
What's On The Menu? Summer Student Digest
June 24, 2026
GFI is excited to share that we’ve moved to a new location! Stay tuned for events starting in Fall 2026, from informal gatherings and class discussions to hands-on gardening in our new space as we grow our own food.
The default food environment is failing our kids – but we have the tools to fix it
June 17, 2026
As a mother of three who worked hard to feed my kids well, I know how much thought goes into trying to do right by them. What I didn't fully appreciate is just how much added sugar is built into the foods families trust most. That's the picture our newest policy brief, Changing the Default: A Policy Roadmap for Reducing Added Sugars in U.S. Children's Diets, lays out in detail.
What foreign aid cuts damaged beneath the surface
May 26, 2026
The 2025 contraction of foreign aid – marked by the dismantling of USAID and a broader donor pullback – set off urgent debates including how assistance should be structured going forward. GFI and GW researchers set out to inform this debate, documenting what was happening to the underlying architecture of the system. Our latest research brief, featured in the Devex Newswire, discusses what has changed beneath the surface.
What's On The Menu? End of the Year Student Digest
May 14, 2026
Congratulations to the Class of 2026! The first cohort of graduating Food Leadership minors wore carrot pin on their lapel at commencement.
Behind every food crisis is a system worth understanding
April 30, 2026
In recent months, we've seen just how a conflict in one region can evolve into food challenges elsewhere. Fertilizer price volatility is shaping what farmers can grow and what consumers ultimately pay at the supermarket. Hunger, nutrition, and food access are continually shaped by a web of interconnected forces – from policy to infrastructure and economics. And rarely does one of these shift in isolation.