2025 Right to Food Learning and Action Fellow Spotlight: Erica Hall
- Photini Kamvisseli Saurez
- Oct 6
- 3 min read
October 6, 2025
By Daniel Chian, National Right to Food Community of Practice Intern, Oberlin College
For the second entry in our Right to Food Learning and Action Fellows Spotlight Series, we have the absolute pleasure of spotlighting Erica Hall from Florida. A true pillar of the community, Erica holds many titles, including Executive Director and Chair of the Board of the Florida Food Policy Council, Grant Reviewer for the USDA Community Food Projects Grant Program, and a Board Member of the Farmers Market Coalition, the Sierra Club, and the North American Food Systems Network. Upon meeting her, Erica’s affinity for leadership is immediately evident.
Erica’s journey to this point began in Brooklyn, New York, where she was surrounded by community food systems from an early age. Her mother was a member of the Park Slope Food Cooperative, and her parents established a community garden in Bed Stuy. Through her parents, Erica learned about the power of growing and sharing food. Her first experiences with advocacy would soon follow, as she fought for tenants’ rights at home in New York and participated in campus organizing at Cal State, Los Angeles.
After the violent beating of Rodney King by LAPD officers and impacted by the subsequent civil unrest, Erica left California, beginning a period she describes as “nomadic.” First, she returned to New York, working as a shelter monitor and continuing to advocate for food programs like SNAP and EBT in the face of proposed work requirements and increased racial profiling under former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. There, Erica also began her work in law and first came in contact with the Sierra Club. After the 9/11 attacks, she relocated to Georgia and then Washington DC, working in corporate law and becoming familiar with the world of food justice and food sovereignty through local nonprofits and think tanks. There, Erica observed a “tale of two rivers,” noting the extreme wealth disparity between the two sides of the Anacostia River. Finally, Erica relocated to St. Petersburg, Florida, to be closer to her parents, who owned a bed and breakfast in the Virgin Islands. While she originally intended to co-manage the business, providing support from the continent, her father, an avid conservationist, passed away before they could actualize that vision.
Since arriving in Florida, Erica has put down deep and wide roots, asserting herself as a leader and a collaborator. As part of an activity we conducted during our first in-person Right to Food Learning and Action Fellows meeting at ISED Solutions’ Community Food Systems Conference last June, each Fellow was tasked with visually depicting their food systems work. Naturally, the image Erica arrived upon was an octopus, with its many tentacles representing all of the organizations, movements, and communities she supports and works alongside. These include the Florida Food Policy Council; the USDA; the Sierra Club, which she serves on as a board member; the St. Pete Youth Farm; Eckerd College; the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg; and the NAACP. Her work with these various groups led her to the right to food framework in general and to the National Right to Food Community of Practice.
Looking forward, Erica is focused on her legacy. Anyone who has worked with her, even briefly, can attest to her warm presence, the consideration that informs her thoughts and the clarity with which she presents them, as well as the deep passion she has for her work. She mentioned how inspired she is by young people that “give a damn,” and there is no doubt that those she works with do so because they have a role model like Erica in their lives. We could not begin our interview without addressing the political context of the moment, and how many people have been forced to shift their focus to survival. Even with her eye on the future, Erica remains acutely aware of the importance of her work today.
We hope you can join us in celebrating Erica Hall, one of our inaugural 2025 Right to Food Learning and Action Fellows!
Stay tuned for upcoming spotlight blog posts on our other impressive Fellows.
