2025: A Year of Impact
2025 was a year of deeper impact for the Bloomberg American Health Initiative. This annual report highlights just some of the impact the Initiative has had in communities across the country. We look forward to continued growth and partnership in the years to come.
Highlights from the 2025 Annual Report
BRINGING FREE SCHOOL MEALS TO STUDENTS IN NEW YORK
Bloomberg Fellow Cody Bloomfield and her collaborating organization Hunger Solutions New York joined Community Food Advocates to launch a statewide campaign for healthy school meals for all students in New York. Research has shown that providing free school meals to students reduces food insecurity, supports learning, improves mental and physical health, and bolsters educational and economic equity. After three years of concerted effort, statewide universal free school meals have been included in the state’s FY2026 budget.
Featured Fellows
Daniel Soucy
Learn moreCollaborating Organization
Washington, D.C.
Bobbie Downs
Learn moreCollaborating Organization
Westampton, New Jersey
Justina Thompson
Learn moreCollaborating Organization
Philadelphia, PA
Jordan Smith
Learn moreCollaborating Organization
Honolulu, HI
Alejandra Casarrubias
Learn moreCollaborating Organization
Albuquerque, NM
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, FOOD LOSS, AND WASTE IN THE U.S. AQUATIC FOOD SYSTEM
A study, led by The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, in collaboration with Bloomberg Fellow Elizabeth Nussbaumer who served as a co-investigator, analyzed the energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and water consumption of different seafood products across the U.S. supply chain. Their findings show that the most energy-efficient products include canned, fresh, and frozen sockeye salmon, frozen pollock, and frozen catfish. The seafood with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions includes canned, fresh, and frozen sockeye salmon, frozen pollock, canned and frozen tuna, and frozen Atlantic salmon.
The Initiative launched a high impact project that brings a unique approach to preventing intimate partner violence. Facilitated by House of Ruth Maryland, Gateway 2 Change is a new 24/7 hotline that provides support for individuals who fear they might hurt someone they love. It is one of the only 24-hour hotlines in the U.S. that focuses on aggressors or people at risk of committing violence.
Check out our past annual reports
Connect With Us
Receive all the latest news from the Initiative by signing up for the American Health Dispatch newsletter, subscribing to the American Health Podcast, and subscribing to our YouTube channel.
Contact Us