Gen Z Food & Hunger Summit

People most affected by hunger and poverty should be at the center of finding solutions—and in the U.S., no generation of adults is more likely now to be affected by food insecurity than Gen Z. In summer 2025, the Congressional Hunger Center and Food Systems Collaborative will host the third annual Gen Z Food & Hunger Summit to bring campus leaders to Washington, D.C., to learn how they can be effective advocates for food security and to meet with members of Congress to share stories from their communities.

Why This Summit?

Gen Z faces an alarming rate of food insecurity, with Purdue University reporting in 2022 that Gen Z households were twice as likely to face hunger compared to Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomers.

In 2023 the Congressional Hunger Center, in collaboration with Bread for the World and Food Recovery Network, hosted the inaugural Gen Z Food & Hunger Summit, bringing 23 Gen Z advocates to Washington, D.C., to learn about key food security issues and effective strategies for advocacy with their elected officials. The following year our coalition was joined by the Farmlink Project, Food Systems Collaborative, the Bonner Foundation, Swipe Out Hunger, Student Basic Needs Coalition, and Food Recovery Network, and brought more than 50 Gen Z advocates to Washington, D.C.

We are the next generation, and we are going to be taking over soon. And I think it’s time that we understand what’s really going on, not just what we read but practically—that’s why we need to be here, to learn now. Khadija Rashid, 2023 Participant

What We're doinG in 2025

In 2025, the Congressional Hunger Center and Food Systems Collaborative are partnering to expand and grow the event to maximize the impact of Gen Z advocates in innovating our food systems and ending domestic and global hunger.

The summit will include 14 partner organizations bringing together Gen Z advocates from across the country. Attendees will participate in virtual and on-site trainings, where they’ll learn about the advocacy process and how to run an advocacy meeting. Participants will also learn about food security in the U.S., including key topics and relevant legislation. The summit will conclude with Congressional meetings in Washington, D.C., followed by a debrief and celebration with key partners.

Draft Agenda

Tuesday, June 17

An Overview of Hunger and Food Insecurity in 2025
The Role of Congress Fighting Hunger
Storytelling and Advocacy
Demystifying Meeting with Elected Officials

Wednesday, June 18

Welcome and Congressional Member Keynotes
Inspiration: How Your Advocacy Makes a Difference
How You Can Continue Back Home
Congressional Meetings

Given the economic challenges facing Gen Z adults—from affordable housing and student loan debt to underemployment and food insecurity—they cannot afford to be absent from the halls of Congress where crucial decisions are being made about their lives and future. We want to make sure their voices are amplified when it comes to the economic and food insecurity they are experiencing right now. Shannon Maynard, Executive Director, Congressional Hunger Center

2025 Partnerships

We're partnering with the following organizations to amplify the voices of Gen Z in advocacy on Capitol Hill.

The Bonner Foundation provides low-income and first generation students with the opportunity to attend college through its range of scholarship programs, while also engaging their talents and educations in building and supporting communities. It aims to serve as a catalyst for student-led community transformation and social justice across the country.

Bread for the World is a Christian advocacy organization urging U.S. decision makers to do all they can to pursue a world without hunger. Our mission is to educate and equip people to advocate for policies and programs that can help end hunger in the U.S. and around the world. They bring together the voices of churches, organizations, individuals, and other groups to change laws and systems that allow hunger to persist.

Founded in 1993 by a bipartisan group of Members of Congress, the Congressional Hunger Center is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to the principle that access to nutritious, affordable, and culturally appropriate food is a basic human right. The Hunger Center develops, inspires, and connects leaders in the movement to end hunger, and advocates for public policies that will create a food secure world.

Established in 2020 by a group of college students, The Farmlink Project is dedicated to supporting farmers and feeding families across the country. Since its inception, the group of young founders has transformed what was initially a pandemic project into one of the most efficient and effective food recovery organizations in the country.

Food Recovery Network unites 6,000+ college students, food suppliers, farmers, and local businesses across the U.S. in the fight against climate change and hunger by recovering surplus food from across the supply chain and donating it to local nonprofit organizations that feed people experiencing hunger.

Sitting between the public and private sectors, Food Systems Collaborative is a consultancy focused on helping corporations create, scale, and implement food donation processes in order to fight food waste and insecurity. It also helps companies create food systems-related social impact strategies, specifically to showcase how brands can engage with public policy as a means for both social good and customer engagement.

GenYouth supports children across the U.S. by helping schools remove barriers to school breakfast and grow participation. It also equips schools with tools and resources toincrease student access to nutrition and physical activity.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is the only UN agency exclusively dedicated to transforming agriculture, rural economies and food systems. It invests in the millions of people who are most at risk of being left behind: poor, small-scale food producers living in rural areas.

RESULTS is a movement of passionate, committed everyday people who use their voices to influence political decisions that will bring an end to poverty and inequity in the U.S. and globally. With expertise in policy and organizing, RESULTS staff support volunteers to become powerful advocates.

Student Basic Needs Coalition is a national non-profit organization with a primary mission to combat the student basic needs crisis by facilitating solutions for food, housing, and financial insecurities among college students. Our approach is three-pronged, focusing on SNAP enrollment, campus education, and advocacy, all aimed at alleviating the immediate needs of students while working towards long-term systemic changes.

Universities Fighting World Hunger is a global network of universities working in partnership to amplify the voice of the rising generation. Its mission is to be the catalyst mobilizing institutions of higher education to collaborate in a grassroots student campaign and an all-disciplines academic agenda to endhunger locally and globally.

The World Food Prize Foundation’s mission is to elevate innovations and inspire action to sustainablyincrease the quality, quantity, and availability of food for all. Based in Iowa, the foundation also provides educational and professional experiences on pressing food security and agriculture issues.

Founded over 60 years ago, The World Wildlife Fund is the world’s leading conservation organization, with a presence in nearly 100 countries. At every level, it collaborates with people around the world to develop and deliver innovative solutions that protect communities, wildlife, and the places in which they live.

Our Sponsors

Thank you to our generous sponsor for making this year's event possible.

Special thanks to Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation for supporting the Hunger Center's Zero Hunger Academy and Zero Hunger Internship since 2018.