García Polanco receives 2026 CANR Culture, Access and Belonging Award
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EmailVanessa García Polanco will receive the 2026 CANR Culture, Access and Belonging Award during the ANR Awards on Friday, February 27.
Vanessa García Polanco will receive a Michigan State University (MSU) College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) Culture, Access and Belonging Award at the February 27, 2026, ANR Awards Program.
The Culture, Access and Belonging Award recognizes alumni for significant achievements, commitment, service, mentorship and leadership contributions that celebrate and advance culture, access and belonging initiatives.
García Polanco received a master’s degree in Community Agriculture and Food Systems from the Department of Community Sustainability in 2020. She currently serves as the Director of Government Relations for the National Young Farmers Coalition. In this role, she co-designs and implements advocacy campaigns promoting equity-driven, farmer-centric research, policy and programmatic innovations advancing a more just food system.
As a Food Leaders Fellow with the Aspen Institute, García Polanco is recognized as one of the nation’s most promising emerging food system leaders. This prestigious program brings together early‑career professionals dedicated to building a fair, healthy and sustainable food system through cross‑sector collaboration and innovation.
An Afro‑Dominican immigrant, García Polanco’s lived experience shapes her advocacy work and public scholarship. She is deeply committed to amplifying the voices of young people, immigrants, refugees and historically underserved growers. She incorporates her cultural and community identities into her policy leadership, research, writing and organizing efforts.
In addition to her national policy work, García Polanco leads independent research and storytelling initiatives. Examples include Dominican Food Studies, a project exploring Dominican foodways, ethnobotany and diaspora identity, as well as #FoodIsNeverJustFood, an initiative to elevate food narratives as vehicles for civic engagement.
Throughout her career, García Polanco has worked across federal and state agencies, nonprofits, research institutions and grassroots organizations to advance food equity and inclusive agricultural policies. Her service includes contributions to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, MSU Center for Regional Food Systems and numerous national coalitions focused on strengthening sustainable and resilient food systems.
Her achievements have been widely recognized. García Polanco is a James Beard Foundation Scholar, Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society Innovation Leader, Grist Climate Fixer, and Union of Concerned Scientists Science Defender, among many other honors.
An active student leader during her time at MSU, García Polanco was a member of the Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences Organization and collaborated closely with the Greater Lansing Foodbank Garden Project. Her approach to community engagement, research partnerships and coalition‑building continues to reflect the collaborative values she embodied as a student.
