The World Food Policy Center is a research, education, and convening organization at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. Center programs and activities focus on scalable food system practices and policies in support of a) equitable food-oriented economic development, b) social justice, c) public health, and d) environmental sustainability. Through our work, we explore human perspectives at each stage of problem analysis, solution design, and testing. We strive to uncover historical drivers of inequality and to bridge disconnected areas of food-related policy and practice intentionally. And, we seek to enhance community health and wellbeing by learning from and connecting with the people most affected by food system challenges.
Our goal is to improve human wellbeing, environmental health, and equity through innovative food system policy and practice. To achieve this, we strive to:
Advance the principles and strategies of equitable food-oriented development as a mechanism for disrupting inequality, and driving sustainability
Engage critical audiences and change agents in a deeper understanding of food systems challenges, research advances, and pilot solutions
Contribute to food policy improvement by educating the next generation of professionals through hands-on, applied research
Our Approach
We catalyze innovative thinking and coordinated action to change policy and practice across the food system. To do this, we intentionally bridge the worlds of academia, industry, philanthropy, non-profits, governance, community, and culture. We conduct work at the global, national, and local levels in Durham and rural North Carolina.
We strive to:
create teams that bring stakeholders and change agents into collaboration
seek out and learn from the lived experiences of high-risk populations
build the relationships and trust needed to engage as partners in solution ideation fully
analyze historical context and the present-day outcomes of past public policy and practice
research gaps in knowledge to cultivate resilient, data-informed, and systemic solutions and best bet recommendations
structure solutions to achieve social justice, and to nurture human and environmental interdependence
Our Values
Healthy food is a fundamental human right. Society has a responsibility to create a resilient and sustainable food system to meet the evolving needs of our local, regional, and global communities.
Food system solutions must also address the root causes. Systemic and intermittent poverty creates simultaneous issues with housing, healthcare disparity, underemployment, and food insecurity in communities and individual households.
Relationships drive change. Trust is the basis for confronting the past, building mutual understanding, and envisioning new opportunities. Change happens at the speed of trust.
Social justice work must be grounded in humility. Confronting and dismantling the structural inequality in our culture requires continuous self-reflection, a willingness to try and fail, and a patient and long-term commitment to change.
Community-driven, institution-supported collaborations create sustainability. When institutions support community leadership, community ownership promotes sustained progress.
