Organizing faith: Unlocking the power of communities for food and health equity

As with most public policy changes, food systems and food policy changes are largely an organizing challenge. Even when we have the best research and logic on our side, policy change can't happen unless and until we gather a critical mass of advocates who demand action from policymakers.

That's where faith communities can make a big difference. Community organizing/mobilization is considerably more challenging than in years past because Americans today tend to have fewer civic and voluntary commitments-they are less likely to be joiners.

Yet, in the words of IPHN board member Victoria Strang, "Faith groups serve as one of the last vestiges of organized community. While the number of practicing Christians may be declining, churches and other faith-based institutions represent a unified structure that can motivate and mobilize people."

That reality is echoed by Nika Saeedi of the United Nations Development Program, who noted at a UN side event this year that faith leaders can lend "moral authority, local legitimacy and vast convening power."

This perspective feeds our Interfaith Public Health Network (IPHN) mission to build bridges between faith communities and public health experts to promote holistic public health awareness, cultivate partnerships to transform public health, and advocate for systems and policies that support health and well-being for all.

We started IPHN in the firm belief that faith communities were powerful, yet underappreciated, partners in public health work. Moreover, faith communities have had a long and rich tradition at the intersection of food, policy, and practice. Consider these examples of how diverse faith communities have led in different dimensions of food justice and food system reform:

Feeding the hungry

• The COVID pandemic highlighted the power of the Sikh practice of langar, the practice of preparing and serving a free meal for all who come, regardless of their faith tradition, in order to promote the Sikh tenet of seva, or selfless service.
• Our community partners at the Muslim Community Network have partnered with Islamic Relief USA to distribute hundreds of hot meals to community members for their annual Ramadan Iftar on the Go program.

Promoting health and nutrition

• The Adventist church has a robust tradition of promoting healthier, plant-based diets and other health behaviors (the Adventist Health Message), which has been linked to longevity and reduced rates of chronic disease among adherents of the faith.
• The Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, in coordination with the Coalition of Asian-American Independent Physicians Association (CAIPA), has implemented a Food Is Medicine program to provide its senior clients, a majority of whom are Asian immigrants, with nutritious and culturally appropriate food and nutrition education.

Food and agriculture worker justice

• The Modern Orthodox social justice organization Uri L'Tzedek has developed the Tav HaYosher Ethical Seal, a certification for kosher restaurants and caterers that ensure Torah-informed safe and just working conditions for their employees.
• New York's Rural and Migrant Ministry (RMM) advocates for the rights of rural migrant farmworkers through leadership development, youth empowerment, legal advocacy, and building financial stability.

Environmental justice

• The organization Beyond Plastics has a robust faith-focused arm addressing all of the impacts of single-use plastics, including the health impacts of plastic food contact chemicals (FCCs).

Efforts like these have inspired our policy advocacy work with CSPI in service of healthier communities in New York. These collaborative campaigns have included warning labels for chain restaurant foods high in sodium and added sugars, requiring better nutrition standards for restaurant kids' meals, limiting the predatory marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to children, and reducing harmful chemical additives in our food supply.

In fact, our faith partners were critical drivers in the coalition that passed the first-in-the-nation (if not first-in-the-world) law requiring added sugar warning labels for chain restaurants. At the bill's NYC Council Health Committee hearing, leaders (clergy and lay) from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and Sikh traditions added their voices to this call for increased nutritional transparency for improved public health.

As we've grown into this work, we've learned that effective organizing and mobilizing requires us to take into account how faith communities are organized. Faith organizations have different polity structures and differing approaches to public policy engagement, from enthusiastic participation to careful engagement to (in some cases) near-blanket prohibitions on policy advocacy. Navigating these differences requires respect, relationship-building, and a deep humility.

For example, many Christian denominations recognize the role of "bishop." But that role can mean quite different things to Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, United Methodists, and independent Pentecostal churches. Additionally, working with masjids (mosques) requires understanding that many imams serve as volunteers rather than salaried clergy.

The effort to engage faith communities in food justice and food systems policy work is well worth it, regardless of our personal views or practices around faith and religion. We'll need the faith sector to assist in the struggle for healthier and fairer food policies, especially in these times of deep challenges to health and equity.

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