Hunger Leadership Awards
Our annual event brings together leaders from government, philanthropy, the private sector, and the wider anti-hunger community to recognize distinguished leaders whose vision and commitment are building the momentum to achieve zero hunger in the U.S. and around the world.
Our annual celebration of exemplary leaders in the fight to end hunger and poverty will return
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
submit your nomination
The 2026 Hunger Leadership Awards will return in June, 2026! Let us know who we should recognize at this year's celebration—submit your nomination in any one of six categories.
Sponsor the 2026 Awards
Your sponsorship of the 2026 Hunger Leadership Awards helps us continue our work growing leaders and cultivating change.
Interested in becoming a 2026 Hunger Leadership Awards Sponsor? Contact Director of Development Laura Tarre today or complete the sponsorship form.
our 2025 Award Recipients
More Awards Recipients Announced Soon!
Thank You to Our SponSors
Harvester
Cultivator
Sower
Planter
Gardener
Friend
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
AFSCME
Bunge North America
Food Research & Action Center
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
National Farmers Union
National Grocers Association
North American Millers' Association
Poetry X Hunger
Eric Steiner
Past Award recipients
We present outstanding leaders from the U.S. government, corporate, and nonprofit sectors with the Bill Emerson & Mickey Leland Hunger Leadership Award for their significant contributions in fighting hunger in the U.S. and around the world.
Chef José Andrés
Gov. David Beasley, Former Executive Director of World Food Programme
Rev. David Beckmann
Senator Roy Blunt
Senator John Boozman
James "JB" Brown
C&S Wholesale Grocers
Paul Carothers
Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr.
Senator Thad Cochran
USDA Under Secretary Kevin Concannon
Senator Chris Coons
Stephen and Ayesha Curry and the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation
Representative Rosa DeLauro
Senator Elizabeth Dole
Christy Duncan Anderson and the Albertsons Companies Foundation
Senator Dick Durbin
Representative Jo Ann Emerson
Representative Sam Farr
Deborah A. Frank, MD, Founder Children’s HealthWatch
Senator Al Franken
The Franklin Food Bank of Somerset, N.J.
Representative Marcia Fudge
USDA Secretary Dan Glickman
Yolanda Gordon
Ambassador Tony Hall
Senator Tom Harkin
Dominique Hazzard and DC Greens
Janie Simms Hipp
Idaho Hunger Relief Task Force
Senator Johnny Isakson
Representative Barbara Lee
Representative Lynn Jenkins
David Kantor
Senator Amy Klobuchar
Senator Herb Kohl
Kraft Heinz
Representative John Lewis
Senator Richard G. Lugar
Representative Tracey Mann
Dora Martinez
Marshall Matz
Representative Michael McCaul
Representative Betty McCollum
Joan McGlockton and the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation
Representative James P. McGovern
Representative Gregory Meeks
Mary Jane Melendez and the General Mills Foundation
Manly Molpus
Representative Gwen Moore
Senator Jerry Moran
Representative Donald M. Payne
Matt Perin and the Kroger Co. Foundation
PepsiCo
Representative Collin Peterson
Representative Chellie Pingree
The Poor People's Campaign
Senator Pat Roberts
Lisa Marsh Ryerson and AARP Foundation
Representative Bobby Scott
Representative Chris Smith
Senator Debbie Stabenow
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
Representative Jackie Walorski
Senator Roger Wicker
Jim Weill
Representative Frank Wolf
Senator Todd Young
We also recognize outstanding alums from the Bill Emerson National and Mickey Leland International Fellowships for their continued dedication to promote food security in the U.S. and around the world.
Ashley Aakesson
Giselle Aris
Damiana Astudillo
Lindsey R. Baker
Kate Bolz
Cara Brumfield
Robert Campbell
Riani Carr
Michelle DeFreese
Indivar Dutta-Gupta
Tony Eskridge
Alexandra Cawthorne Gaines
Anne-Claire Hervy
Marc Jacobson
Carmen Jaquez
Michael Johnson
Shana McDavis Conway
Shane Murphy Goldsmith
Matt Newell-Ching
Adam Norikane
Tammy Palmer
Bryan Pride
Amanda Rives
Javier Silva
Richard H. Stolz
Christine Tran
Emily Wei
Hunger Leadership Awards News
Nominate a Leader
The Hunger Leadership Awards honor distinguished leaders who are chosen for their significant contributions in the fight to end hunger. They embody the determination necessary to make hunger and poverty a focal point of U.S. policy at home and globally.
Nominations for the 2024 Hunger Leadership Awards are now closed. We look forward to announcing our award recipients later this spring.
