Meet food justice champion Ariel Savransky of UJA-Federation of NY

Since 2019, Equity Advocates has been on a mission to fight the underlying causes of food inequity through policy and systems change. We believe that by engaging key food systems stakeholders on the frontlines and building coalitions, we can push for good food policy.

In February 2020, as New York became the first U.S. epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city went on lockdown. Hospitals filled to capacity, the emergency food system was overwhelmed and social service providers struggled to shift to remote services. COVID-19 exacerbated existing wealth inequities, while millions more slipped into poverty. And the disruption of supply chains revealed flaws in the food production and distribution system. 

The big question was: what would these overlapping crises mean for food systems, hunger, and poverty in New York? 

There wasn’t a simple answer, so Equity Advocates brought together community partners to talk about the challenges they faced and brainstorm immediate and long-term solutions.

And what started off as a dozen participants—meeting weekly in March 2020—soon grew into the NYC Food Policy Alliance, a 75+ member-strong multisector group of stakeholders from across the food system.

We have so many success stories to share and, in our next few emails, will introduce you to some of the many food justice champions we partner with in our work.

Ariel Savransky, a Senior Advocacy and Policy Advisor at UJA-Federation of NY, has been an active member of the NYC Food Policy Alliance where she co-leads our Policy Committee. The Alliance has helped Ariel consider how her work to get more kosher food into the emergency food system fits into the broader food advocacy and justice world, ultimately broadening UJA’s advocacy platform.

“Joining the NYC Food Policy Alliance at a time when our country was in crisis mode provided me with the resources and connections to ensure that our communities were getting access to the emergency food they needed at the time. The support from alliance members was critical to my work as an advocate. The collective potential of the Equity Advocates’ led NYC Food Policy Alliance is huge. There is huge potential for making policy change, securing increased investment in vital food programming and creating a more inclusive policy making process. The expertise of Alliance members in everything from emergency food to benefits access to community gardens and food businesses ensures that all voices are heard and the change we will be able to make will positively impact the food systems in which we work.” - Ariel Savransky

Your donation, along with the efforts of champions like Ariel, will help us build a diverse grassroots coalition leading a political food movement. Consider making a donation to Equity Advocates today. Your monthly contribution is an easy way to play a lasting role in promoting equitable access to healthy food for all New Yorkers.

Thanks for your support!

With gratitude,

Leah Eden & Gabrielle Blavatsky

Co-Founders, Equity Advocates