| | | | October 2025 • Issue No. 23 | | The Latest at Harvard Law School's
Food Law and Policy Clinic | |  | A Historic Convening: 10th Anniversary of the Food Law Student Leadership Summit | | Early October marked a significant milestone for the Food Law and Policy Clinic as we proudly celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Food Law Student Leadership Summit. This event brings together passionate law students and legal scholars from around the country dedicated to improving our food system. Since the inaugural Summit in 2015—brought to life through the vision and generosity of Harvard Law School alumna Susan Haar—students nationwide, many from institutions without food law programs, have had the opportunity to attend this Summit to connect, learn about career paths, and join a supportive professional community. Susan’s commitment to the Summit honors her father, esteemed former Harvard Law School professor Charles M. Haar, who was a pioneer in environmental and land use law. Over the past decade, after launching at Harvard Law School in 2015, the Summit has traveled to five other law schools around the country, convening more than 500 law students from over 125 schools and linking future leaders with the nation’s top food and agricultural minds. This year’s gathering at Harvard Law School welcomed 78 students from 35 law schools across the country together with 40 Harvard University students, reflecting the growing impact and reach of the event. The success of the Summit would not have been possible without the support of Susan Haar and our wonderful organizational sponsors: American Farmland Trust, Animal Welfare Institute, FarmSTAND, Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, Food Fix, Food Policy Pathways, and The Global Food Institute at The George Washington University. Their contributions are helping to sow the seeds of a vibrant network of food law leaders who will bring new voices and energy to improve the health of our nation’s food and farming systems. To see more pictures and videos from the Summit click here. Read on for more details, insights, and updates on our work and the field. Please also stay engaged with us by subscribing to our listserv and follow us on social media. Sincerely,  Emily Broad Leib,
Clinical Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
Faculty Director, Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC)
Faculty Director, Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation (CHLPI) | | | | | | | | | | The CHLPI Team Wishes Senior Advancement Officer Kyra Sanborn the Best as She Begins a New Career Chapter Kyra Sanborn rose from the ranks of Consultant to Senior Advancement Officer at CHLPI over the past six years. She shared insights into her experience securing critical resources to support CHLPI’s mission of pursuing more equitable, just, and sustainable health and food systems as she transitions to a new role. “Reflecting on my time at CHLPI, what stands out most is the remarkable breadth of work and impact that our small but mighty team has achieved. CHLPI is comprised of dedicated, brilliant, and thoughtful legal and administrative experts who have driven substantial change in both health and food systems. The systems-level impact I’ve witnessed over the last 6+ years is also a testament to the strategic, thoughtful support from our funders and partners – for which I am deeply grateful.” We will miss Kyra, but are excited for her next chapter and wish her well! | | | | | | | |  | Global Food Donation Law and Policy Atlas: Start Here Policy Toolkit The “Start Here” Toolkit, drafted as part of The Global Food Donation Policy Atlas project, was released in September. This toolkit is designed to provide a brief overview of our research from around the world to make it easier for policymakers to improve policy to reduce food loss and waste and increase food donation. This toolkit serves as a starting point for policy stakeholders to understand on a high level what the key policy issues are and which opportunities can improve the food donation legal landscape. Once they decide what issue is right for them and get the basics on the policies in the toolkit, they can dig deeper with many of our detailed policy issue briefs and country reports. | | |  | Maximizing the Impact of Nutrition Interventions with Local Food Procurement Earlier this summer, we released this report examining how state governments can incorporate local and regional food system policy priorities into their development and implementation of Food is Medicine interventions to maximize program impacts. The report includes an overview of the nuts and bolts of procurement and then drills down into opportunities improve procurement practices within Medicaid coverage, as an example for how local and regional food systems can be best maximized in any Food is Medicine program funding. | | | | | | | | | |  | | |  | From Excess to Impact Reducing Food Waste and Feeding Communities FLPC Director Emily Broad Leib spoke at a European Commission event hosted by European Food Banks Federation (FEBA) and the European Food Forum (EFF). The event convened policymakers, industry leaders, and food system stakeholders to tackle food loss and waste in line with UN SDG 12.3 - Halving global per capita food waste by 2030. | |  | | |  | Food Is Medicine Implementers’ Workshop CHLPI hosted a FIM Implementers’ Workshop in October 2025 that brought together leaders from across the country who are designing or implementing state-level Food is Medicine programs to share learnings and best practices. Discussions included sustainability, policy pathways, coalition building, and local food procurement. | |  | Symposium on Food Donation in Austria Clinical Instructor Trevor Findley and FLPC Student Kat Stecher spoke at a Symposium on food donation hosted by Austrian Food Bank Die Tafel Oserreich, as part of a research trip on Austria’s food donation policies, under the Atlas Project in partnership with The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN) and the European Food Banks Federation (FEBA). | | |  | 3rd Annual Food Is Medicine National Summit This year’s summit, hosted by Tuft’s University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy in October 2025, focused on the real-world progress and the tensions in FIM implementation, effectiveness, and equity. CHLPI Director of Whole Person Care Kate Garfield spoke about national policy challenges and opportunities in FIM, and FLPC Clinical Instructor Heather Latino moderated a panel on FIM’s intersections with farming and the local food system. | |  | 2025 National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Show Clinical Instructor April Love presented on the “Plan, Donate, Reduce: Minimizing Food Waste” panel during the 2025 NACS Show. She shared insights on liability protections and incentives for convenience stores that donate surplus food, helping them understand how to give back safely to their communities under the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. | |  | | |  | From Waste to Win: How Reducing Wasted Food Benefits Climate & Community FLPC Clinical Fellow Akif Khan spoke at a Center for EcoTechnology event held during NYC Climate Week in September 2025 to discuss proven, replicable strategies for implementing effective food waste policies that yield the outcomes all desire: waste reduction, emissions reductions, cost savings, and more sustainable food systems across America. | |  | Webinar: Stronger Together: How Alliances And Technology Can Tackle Food Insecurity FLPC Policy Analyst Regan Plekenpol spoke at the World Food Day Virtual Webinar “Stronger Together: How Alliances and Technology Can Tackle Food Insecurity,” organized by PedidosYa. The webinar explored the challenges of global food insecurity and the role of technology and strategic partnerships in finding solutions. Other speakers included representatives of the World Food Programme (WFP), Delivery Hero, and the Global Food Banking Network (GFN) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | FLPC Aluma Liz Turner Promoted to Visiting Assistant Professor After graduating from Harvard Law School in 2023, FLPC alumna Liz Turner began her career at Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Center for Agriculture and Food Systems as a Food and Agriculture Fellow. Liz has since been appointed as a visiting assistant professor, where she continues to make an impact. Most recently, she authored an insightful new guide exploring the critical intersections of local policy, urban agriculture, and innovative food production. | | FLPC Alumna Samantha Garfinkle begins her Litigation Fellowship at FarmSTAND 2025 Harvard Law School graduate and FLPC alumna Samantha Garfinkle (formerly Goerger) recently started a two-year fellowship at FarmSTAND. FarmSTAND deploys litigation to enforce the rights of workers, small farmers, and communities harmed by industrial animal agriculture. Inspired by her upbringing on a small regenerative farm in North Dakota, Samantha came to law school to build a more just and sustainable food system. Not only was Samantha a clinical student in the Food Law and Policy Clinic, she also participated in the Animal Law and Policy Clinic and served as president of the National Food Law Student Network. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) serves partner organizations and communities by providing guidance on cutting-edge food system issues, while engaging law students in the practice of food law and policy. FLPC’s work focuses on increasing access to healthy foods, supporting sustainable production and food systems, promoting community-led food system change, and reducing waste of healthy, wholesome food. FLPC is committed to advancing a cross-sector, multi-disciplinary and inclusive approach to its work, building partnerships with academic institutions, government agencies, private sector actors, and civil society with expertise in public health, the environment, and the economy. Learn more about FLPC. | | | | | | | | | | | |
