Thomas Vilsack

Food and Nutrition Security: The Critical Intersection of Farm Policy and the Land-Grant Mission

Biography

Thomas J. Vilsack serves as chief executive officer of the World Food Prize Foundation. Before becoming CEO, he served 12 years as U.S. secretary of agriculture and eight years as governor of Iowa. At the foundation, Vilsack works to expand its global network and strengthen its role as a leader in advancing agricultural innovation, inspiring action to end hunger while improving food and nutrition security worldwide.

During his leadership of the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Obama and Biden administrations, the department implemented a historic increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to support families experiencing food and nutrition insecurity. It also expanded access to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and launched the SUN Bucks Summer Feeding Program, creating the first new federal nutrition assistance program in more than 50 years to help children access nutritious food during summer months.