Food Tank

Across New York City, food system inclusivity is foundational to building healthier neighborhoods and a flourishing city life. And that’s not unique to the Big Apple: Food policy is central to urban well-being in any and every city—and both public and private institutions have a role to play.

“You can’t talk about food and climate and health without talking about culture and community and connection,” Siddhartha Sanchez, Executive Director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy, said during a Climate Week NYC Summit, “People-Focused. Climate-Friendly. Food-Forward New York City.” The event was co-hosted by Food Tank in partnership with Support + Feed, Strong Roots, and the NYC Mayor’s Office. 

Watch the livestream recording on Food Tank’s YouTube channel. 

“Food connects us. And it’s what makes this city so amazing,” says Helen Arteaga, New York City Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services. “Food not only nourishes our bodies but also nourishes our minds, (and) more importantly, makes us share our stories.”

In terms of civic institutions that can drive change, schools are among the most powerful—both as sites for food system education and as incubators for innovative solutions that can be scaled up once they’re proven successful. 

“We hope that the healthy eating habits that they’re learning early on carry into adulthood,” says Brittany Saffold, Director of Partnerships, Communication, and Retention with New York City Public Schools. “How do we take something that’s happening at one school and put it citywide?”

At the Climate Week Summit, for example, students from Francis Lewis Culinary High School prepared climate-friendly recipes for attendees to try and gave an overview of the process of creating meals for events.

“We don’t just learn about cooking; we learn about food preparation and safety—and all these experiences grow all of us as people,” one student says. 

And getting the next generation of chefs and urban food system leaders engaged requires creativity.

“Gen Z wants delicious food that’s also good for the planet and on the right mission,” says Emma Curtis, Managing Director of Strong Roots. “Brands have got to do a good job at making it exciting.”

Artists can also drive important, exciting change. During the Summit at Climate Week, attendees were able to view a special pop-up exhibition of a project by illustrator Kevin Nakagawa to spotlight food memories in residential facilities for New Yorkers with disabilities, alongside Open Doors. You can view a video on the project here.

“When you listen to community, you not only hear the direct impact policies have on community but the lived reality of someone that’s failed by the system,” Sanchez said. “Folks have endless ideas, and the job of the government is to listen.”

Or, take Maggie Baird as an example. She’s the Founder and President of Support + Feed and the mother of artists Billie Eilish and Finneas. 

“When we book a tour, we tell arenas upfront what our requirements are, and some of those are at least three plant-based mains,” she said. “I feel like my life is so much better for being a plant-based eater … I think we need to share that joy and help people understand it’s not about what you take away; it’s what you add in.”

Even though they’re often disregarded, institutions like prisons are connected to the food system, too and have significant procurement power.

“We do everything we can with the resources that we have,” says Norman Priester, Executive Director of the Nutrition Service Division at the NYC Department of Correction. “Sourcing locally is always our priority when possible. … It provides the healthiest options.”

This is city life: Complex, but an environment where real change is possible with cross-disciplinary partnerships and engaged consumers.

“Be curious about your food environment,” says Ora Kemp, Senior Policy Advisor at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy. “It’s all unique to the land that you’re on.”

Explore the entire Food Tank event schedule during Climate Week NYC 2026, and live-stream every Summit on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo by Ryan Rose for Food Tank.

The post NYC Is Leading The Charge Toward People-Focused Urban Food Policy appeared first on Food Tank.

Everything in the food system is interrelated, from agriculture to nutrition to medicine to climate. And among these institutions, farms are the connective tissue that binds them together, panelists said at Climate Week NYC. The way food is grown, raised, and produced shapes its nutritional value and, ultimately, its impact on eaters’ well-being.

Ranchers, chefs, scientists, business leaders, and health experts joined an engaged crowd for the Food Tank Summit “Nourishing the Future: How Farming Practices Shape the Food We Eat, the Health We Build, and the Longevity We Seek,” in partnership with Diestel Family Ranch.

Watch the livestream recording on Food Tank’s YouTube channel. 

“Everything starts in the soil; everything is grounded in the soil,” says Heidi Diestel, a 4th Generation Family Farmer at Diestel Family Ranch. “The family farmers are the ones who have figured out not just how to farm, innovate, and market the products, but help people understand the value (of healthy food).”

The connection between better farming practices and healthier food is not theoretical—it’s science. Everything from animal health to soil biology to regenerative production practices on the farm helps shape the nutritional value of crops that leave the farm, which in turn shapes public health outcomes and societal well-being.

“For regenerative agriculture…there is pretty good evidence that crops are more nutritious, and even livestock that are pasture-raised are more nutritious,” says Dariush Mozaffarian, Cardiologist, Public Health Expert, and Director of the Tufts Food is Medicine Institute. “We have to link agriculture to human health to human productivity.” 

As Paul Lightfoot, General Manager of Patagonia Provisions, said later in the Summit, we need to be engaging more in conversations about these nuances.

“Should we eat beef? That’s not the right question; not all beef is the same,” he says.

But understanding this reality relies on conducting—and communicating—strong research. For too long, Mozaffarian says, many of the most important nutrient markers were not the ones being measured. That’s changing now, thanks to large-scale efforts like the Periodic Table of Food Initiative (PTFI). 

“We now have the molecular tools to be able to profile foods beyond what’s conventionally on the back of the nutrition label…which allows us to elevate foods with nutrients that might not show up on a label,” says Nile Nair, Senior Program Manager for Health Science, Research, and Translation at PTFI. 

This also means strengthening local food systems that bring farmers as close as possible to the end consumer.

“Getting closer to the source oftentimes is the very beginning of the choice to having a whole food, not as much processing involved,” says Kate Fullam, Team Lead for Food Systems Resiliency at the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. “Whose voice is not at the table yet that needs to be?”

Ann Marie Hourigan, Head of Quality Standards for Whole Foods Market, echoed this sentiment: “We need to invite farmers to the conversation and understand what their needs are,” she says. 

Engaging farmers could transform entire nations, as Chef Andrew Zimmern, a Television Host, Author, and Food Advocate, said in a special fireside chat.

In Zambia, for example, changing “what they’re farming can change the landscape of a country economically,” he says. 

At the same time, panelists said, creating stronger food systems also means engaging consumers—but effective ways to reach eaters are quickly changing, says Tambra Raye Stevenson, Founder of WANDA (Women Advancing Nutrition, Dietetics, and Agriculture). 

“We are at a state of food system illiteracy, not truly understanding the impact of what’s happening to our food system,” she says. “The media and algorithms (such as TikTok) are becoming the determinant of our health.”

Interestingly, consumer interest in high-quality food is increasing—but for personal wellness reasons, not necessarily for its impact on environmental well-being. That opens up a huge opportunity for advocates to help consumers understand these links between the health of our bodies and the health of the planet. 

“Consumers are sick and tired of being sick. They’re turning to food as health more and more,” says Kristine Root, Chief Strategist and Founder of Socha. “We’re seeing mass segments of consumers who care about food quality…but they need our help in communicating better.”

When we draw straight lines from farms to tables—and when we grow crops with sustainability in mind and feed our communities with care and love—the food we’re eating literally tastes better, panelists said. 

“We believe that food is medicine, and therefore we work hard to grow food, provide quality food to families, and for the past five years, we’ve charged no one anything,” says Elder Raymond Bryant, Presiding Elder of AME Church and Co-Founder of San Antonio Million Gardens Project. “If the food is not good, people are not going to eat it. It doesn’t matter how healthy it is.”

From a family farm perspective, this could not be more true.

“Stewardship goes beyond just what we do. It’s really about the legacy of food and being intentional about the food that we’re producing,” says Jason Diestel, Farmer at Diestel Family Ranch. “I wish more people understood that what we eat matters, what we feed the soil matters. It’s just one long chain.”

Explore the entire Food Tank event schedule during Climate Week NYC 2026, and live-stream every Summit on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo by Ryan Rose for Food Tank.

The post “It’s Just One Long Chain”: How Regenerative Farming Equals Tastier Food, Healthier Eaters, And Nourished Communities appeared first on Food Tank.

Farmers across the U.S. are facing mounting economic pressures alongside the growing impacts of climate change. More than half of farms had negative income in 2024, while extreme weather disasters cost farmers billions, in addition to new tariffs and soaring input costs, and rising land prices threaten access for the next generation. 

Supporting viable farms and ranches is essential to strengthening rural communities and building a more resilient food system amid these challenges.

“Farmers cannot carry the climate transition alone,” Food Tank President Danielle Nierenberg said during “Thriving Farms and Ranches,” a summit held in partnership with the American Farmland Trust at Climate Week NYC. You can watch the entire event stream here.

“If we want healthier soils, if we want cleaner water, if we want to protect biodiversity, if we want nutritious food, if we want thriving rural communities, then we have to build an economy that rewards the people making those outcomes possible,” says Nierenberg.

Throughout the morning, speakers discussed how agriculture can help address climate change while ensuring the people who grow our food have the resources to thrive. A central theme emerged across conversations: Climate solutions must also support the economic well-being of farmers and rural communities.

“Even though more and more farmers are eager to follow regenerative practices, none of that makes much of a difference if farms are going out of business,” says John Piotti, President and CEO of American Farmland Trust.

Piotti highlighted the connection between farm profitability and environmental stewardship. While agriculture plays an important role in climate solutions, farmers need economic stability to sustain those efforts.

“Ultimately we need to pay farmers adequately not only for the food that they grow but for the ecological services they provide,” says Piotti. American Farmland Trust’s new Thriving Farms and Ranches initiative focuses on strengthening the economic viability of farms and ranches alongside their environmental contributions.

The economic challenges facing farmers also affect who can access land and continue farming. During a panel on farmland access for a new generation, Brooks Lamb, Director of Food Systems and Agriculture Policy at Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, described rising land values and growing barriers for young farmers.

“In a lot of communities across the country, land values have skyrocketed…Sometimes even $40,000 an acre, in part because of real estate development,” says Lamb. “We’re seeing a lot of rural gentrification.”

Dominick Grant, Partner and Managing Director of Dirt Capital Partners, says land ownership is critical to supporting farmers’ long-term investments: “Land ownership is the foundation upon which everything is built…the ability for a farmer to invest in regenerative practices, their community, and a rural economy.”

Olivia Fuller, a fourth-generation farmer at Fuller Acres, points to another way communities can help sustain local farms: simply building relationships directly with farmers. “Find out who the farmers are in your community that you can support. Build relationships, show up at the farm for events…We need more of that.”

Speakers also explored how women farmers, local procurement, and farm-to-school programs can strengthen food systems. Hillary Barile, Owner of Rabbit Hill Farms, says farmers often want to make sustainable decisions but must balance those choices with economic realities.

“Every farmer that I’ve ever met wants to make the more sustainable choice that they can for their farm…but they have to balance those decisions with economic sustainability,” says Barile.

For Heather Oppel, Senior Climate Manager at General Mills, climate and agricultural solutions must also reflect the communities implementing them. Women comprise more than one third of U.S. agricultural producers, yet they face persistent systemic barriers in securing loans, land access, and technical assistance.

“Regenerative agriculture and women go hand in hand,” says Oppel. “In order to make this transition durable, it needs to be locally relevant.”

State policies also can—and must—help farmers respond to climate pressures.

“Our farmers are experiencing the impacts of climate change every day,” says Amanda Beal, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry. “We are in a drought…we are seeing the impacts of extreme weather events, soil erosion, rivers flooding fields.”

 And local procurement is a powerful way for institutions to support farmers, economic development, and children’s health: The school cafeteria is America’s biggest restaurant. 

“Local procurement supports farmers and local economic development. Kids eat it, and therefore they will be healthier,” says Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. “And there’s experiential learning. The children are connected with nature and understand how farming and nature can be compatible.”

Farm-to-school programs offer another way to connect farmers, communities, and the next generation. Kat Taylor, Chair of the Board of Directors at TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation, says California’s universal school meals program success demonstrates how quickly food systems can shift when investment and political will align.

“It’s not just the morally right thing to do for kids,” says Taylor. “It was also the right thing to do for the supply chain to shift it in favor of ecological and racial justice.”

Much of the work of ecological regeneration happens below the ground, in the soil. Ranchers joined the stage to speak about the realities of regenerative grazing, and how ranching can support soil health while strengthening rural economies and communities.

“The bounty is so great from the soil…and the economic impact. Our whole town is thriving,” says Will Harris, Owner of White Oak Pastures.

Finally, the program looked toward the next generation of eaters and farmers.

Access to land, economic viability, and opportunities to learn remain critical challenges to the next generation of farmers. But without more young people farming, the industry faces further consolidation or development that takes farms out of production and negatively impacts rural communities.

Connecting young people with farming and the natural world can help get children and young people excited about agriculture, says Jeff Tkach, CEO of Rodale Institute: “What gets kids excited is the world of soil. There’s a world beneath our feet…we only know about 5 percent of what we believe there is to know about it.”

And it’s working, says Deydra Steans, Manager of S3 Legacy Ranch—though young farmers still need much more education and support.

“There’s a trend. More young folks wanting to return to the farm,” says Steans.

Explore the entire Food Tank event schedule during Climate Week NYC 2026, and live-stream every Summit on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo by Ryan Rose for Food Tank.

The post Building Thriving Farms: “Farmers Cannot Carry the Climate Transition Alone” appeared first on Food Tank.

Lights… Camera… Food system action!

Storytelling is a powerful catalyst for education, connection, and transformation, and filmmakers and documentarians are highlighting inspiring people and unsung innovations in food systems across the globe.

“Stories and food are what make us human,” says Haven Worley, Director of “Irish Farmers: A Love Story,” at the All Things Food & Agriculture Film Festival, hosted by Food Tank in partnership with Kat Taylor, President of TomKat Foundation; Halter; The Henry Ford; The Rockefeller Foundation; and Groundswell during Climate Week NYC.

Watch the livestream recording on Food Tank’s YouTube channel. 

“As conveners, as storytellers, we can share what’s working across the country,” says Spence Medford, Senior Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer at The Henry Ford, after screening the foundation’s new “Farm to School Lunch Across America” film. “There’s innovation that’s happening in the food system right now; people just don’t know about it.”

At Climate Week, the packed audience also enjoyed a screening of clips from the documentary short “Language of the Land,” produced by Halter. The film follows 5th-generation ranchers Kacie and Zach Scherler-Abney of Scherler-Abney Land & Cattle, as they transition their Oklahoma farm to regenerative practices. 

“It’s a beautiful thing to see producers from different parts of the world who share this goal and really want to work with one another,” says Helen Moore, VP of Commercial Strategy at Halter.

“Especially with our generation, there’s a huge interest in agriculture and…a real genuine interest in connecting with food sources,” Zach Scherler-Abney added.

In introducing the “Powered By Community” film series, a grassroots project highlighting local changemakers, Big Green president Madeleine Nelson reminded the crowd that “Small can scale.”

“These local projects are part of the solutions that we need to change the food system for the better,” she says.

Jennifer Sherman, Program Director at the Alice Waters Institute, echoed this sentiment.

“There is no change that is too small,” she says.

Then, Kat Taylor, Founder of TomKat Ranch and TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation, and director and producer Rebecca Harrell Tickell took the stage with clips from “Groundswell,” the feature-length documentary that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.

“The farmers are not only right; we should be listening to them more often and enabling them more, and giving them more agency,” Taylor says. 

When pitching the film project, back in 2013, the team faced pushback from producers who didn’t believe regenerative agriculture was actually transformative, Harrell Tickell recalled. The film has been its own proof-of-concept. 

“They laughed us out of Hollywood,” Harrell Tickell says. “We were filming a movement as it was coalescing. … It feels like we’re just getting started even though it’s been over a decade to get to this point.”

Stories like these, filmmakers said, only reinforce the importance of storytellers following their passions and telling true stories.  

“We have to fight to curate and support and bubble up hope,” says Sara Farley, Regenerative School Meals Co-Lead and Vice President for the Food Team at The Rockefeller Foundation. She presented clips from “Food 2050,” which she described as a radical listening project. 

“The future isn’t written,” she continued. “Use the creative part of your brain to imagine the future.”

Explore the entire Food Tank event schedule during Climate Week NYC 2026, and live-stream every Summit on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo by Ryan Rose for Food Tank.

The post Storytelling As A Catalyst For Change at Climate Week NYC Film Festival appeared first on Food Tank.

With private-sector power and resources, major food brands can help spearhead significant food system transformations—but only if they embrace transparency and long-term thinking, leaders said. At Food Tank’s annual “Mission Driven Brands Sustainability Summit” at Climate Week NYC, founders and corporate sustainability officers had candid conversations about building trust in the food system.

“We’re making food, so there’s nothing more important than trust,” says Peter McGuinness, CEO of Bel North America. “If we’re making healthy food with real, simple ingredients, we are respecting the planet.”  

The event was hosted in partnership with Mission Driven Brands: Bel US, Northstar Recycling, Global Traceability Framework for Beef and Leather, and Bonterra Organic Estates. You can watch the livestream recording on Food Tank’s YouTube channel. 

As a surprise guest for a fireside chat, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, First Partner of California, grounded the audience in discussing the beneficiaries of better food-industry practices: The next generation.

“As a mother of four, I was trying to feed my own children local and organic,” she told the packed crowd. “I thought, ‘I can’t just be nourishing my own children, but all California children need to have this.’ … It’s a shame that we’ve been feeding kids such horrible food for so long.”

So how do we steer the ship? Trust is one of the most powerful resources a food business has—and also one that requires constant work to maintain, leaders said. This means both trust in individual companies and trust in broader institutions, like the food system at large. 

“Consumers more than ever want transparency, but they also want to know that they’re eating real food,” says Ann Marie Hourigan, Head of Quality Standards for Whole Foods Market. “There’s a lot of distrust in what’s been allowed in the food system over time.”

Building trust means focusing on transparent supply chains and traceable ingredients.

“[Traceability] makes companies accountable for what they’re doing and where they’re sourcing their products from,” says Diana Hanus, Senior Executive Vice President of Commercial & Business Development at Sovereign Seas. “It’s good for business; it’s not just good for the consumers. What traceability does is it puts a face to where your products are coming from.”

The solution is information: Not just more information, but better information, communicated more effectively to the shoppers and eaters who consume the companies’ products.

“If you can’t see it, you can’t really make claims and verify what’s in that supply chain,” says Mark Kaplan, Chief Marketing and Sustainability Officer at Wholechain. “In the future, I see labels on pretty much everything—policy and the world is asking for it.”

Across the food business landscape, several of the companies leading the charge toward more transparent, regenerative, transformative practices are not exactly food businesses at all—they’re beverage producers and sellers.

“At the end of the day, my team and myself are stewards of this type of farming and we are there to guide people,” says Elaina Leibee, Wine Director at Erewhon. “There really is not a lot of transparency in winemaking and what is in the bottle. Some people don’t know you can add up to 300 different additives in the wine, and it doesn’t have to be listed on the label.”

So what do better beverage business practices look like?

At Bonterra Organic Estates, Sustainability Manager Beatrix Scolari says, “We are cultivating our vineyards as a living, thriving ecosystem. Nearly every wine grower is facing some sort of climate pressure. But wine growers are extremely resilient.”

Practices like these mean that “you can eat and drink your way out of climate change with regenerative organic,” according to Stephen Cronk, Co-Founder and Trustee of the Regenerative Viticulture Foundation and the Co-Founder and CEO of Maison Mirabeau. 

As Rob Samuels, Eighth-Generation Whisky Maker and Managing Director at Maker’s Mark, reminded us, “Whisky is grown. Whisky is an agricultural product.” 

When you focus on that, it only makes sense for businesses to think and act sustainably, he said. 

“When you’re in the whisky business, you have to think long-term,” he says. “Oftentimes family companies have a sense of responsibility to the community. We want to be in business thriving all over the world for the next 100 years—of course we should be investing in this.”

We also have to remember that circular food systems of the future can’t just be accomplished by switching a plastic fork for a compostable one—the changes we need are truly systemic.

“Waste isn’t the problem; how it’s managed is,” says Shawna Laczko, Chief Revenue Officer at Northstar Recycling. “A material that’s compostable in theory needs the infrastructure at the right scale and in the right place.”

As Jordan Catalana, Senior Manager for Social Impact at the Tapestry Foundation, reminded us, “Scalability and adoption matter. That’s how we’re going to achieve anything.”

“It’s not about what we’re striving for; confidence and transparency are the only way we can prove any of it,” she says. 

Explore the entire Food Tank event schedule during Climate Week NYC 2026, and live-stream every Summit on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel. 

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo by Ryan Rose for Food Tank.

The post Industry Leaders Talk Transparency And Trust At Annual Climate Week Brand Sustainability Summit appeared first on Food Tank.

Food waste is a global climate, food security, and economic challenge. From farms and commercial kitchens to households and landfills, roughly one-third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted, costing the global economy roughly US$1 trillion annually and driving 8 to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, an estimated 1 in 11 people face chronic hunger and undernourishment worldwide.

With this in mind, “food waste belongs at the center of the conversation on climate action,” says Martin Krause, Director of the Climate Change Division at UNEP. 

Krause spoke at “Solving Food Waste is a Key Solution to the Climate Crisis,” a Food Tank Summit at Climate Week NYC, held in partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Food Planet Prize, NRDC, Restaurant Technologies, CookUnity, and Mill. Throughout the morning, speakers agreed that addressing food waste requires action across the food system, from agricultural production and government policy to businesses and households.

Speakers emphasized the importance of preventing waste at the farm level—where unharvested surplus crops, strict cosmetic standards, and economic factors can sometimes make it unprofitable or impractical to pick and sell everything that is grown.

U.S. Representative Andrea Salinas (D-OR) points to the financial pressures that force farmers to waste food: “A lot of our growers are leaving their crops in the fields or orchards. Some of it is it just isn’t going to pencil out for them to harvest…This is all food that should not be wasted,” says Salinas.

Yet food waste prevention at the farm level “is what keeps the most carbon in the ground and keeps the most people alive,” says Veleké Brown, CEO of E-RoadMap and Velloris and Executive Director of E-RoadMap Corporation. “When we talk about food waste, most people work at the end of the line moving surplus, but my work is upstream where the waste is quieter.”

U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) says reducing food waste also requires examining how food is distributed and who has access to it.

“Part of why you have food waste is because farmers are producing agricultural products they’re selling nationally and internationally, and local people who are hungry cannot get their hands on that food. We have not, as a country, made it a policy priority to address this,” says Stansbury. “We cannot talk about food waste without talking about fixing the food system.” 

Food recovery can help connect surplus food with communities experiencing food insecurity, but speakers say that donations must meet people’s needs.

“Even if you do all this work to donate the excess food, if it isn’t intentional and what people want, it just ends up in the trash,” says Matthew Jozwiak, Founder and CEO of Rethink Food.

And strong partnerships are necessary to expand food recovery efforts, says María Bengochea, Director of Sustainability & Standards at CookUnity.

“We are suffering from many climate crises…we need to unlock emergency donations for people who are suffering from this. It’s important to have strong partners who are really committed,” says Bengochea.

Especially at a time when fuel and grocery prices are at historic highs across the world, speakers say that communicating with consumers about food waste prevention must point to the financial benefits.

“Reducing methane emissions might not land with people, but reducing their grocery bill will,” says Tia Schwab, Senior Manager of U.S. Food Systems at C40 Cities

And for Madeline Keating of NRDC, infrastructure and education are critical components of making any food waste production effort successful. If the compost stream is contaminated or there are not enough facilities to process it, then efforts to increase composting practices will be wasted.

“Cities can realize the most cost savings from reducing food waste when they look at their entire waste system. But a really critical piece is education,” says Keating.

In commercial kitchens, this also means engaging employees at every level. 

“It really just comes down to the actions of the chefs and making sure everyone from hourly associates to executive chefs knows what they need to do in their specific roles,” says Gwyneth Rampton, Vice President of Sustainability at Compass Group USA.

And at the retail level, Jackie Suggitt, Senior Director of Waste & Circularity at Walmart, calls for faster implementation of solutions that already exist.

“Let’s not wait for the next thing to come along and fix all the problems…we have enough to be moving and moving quickly,” says Suggitt. “I would like to see us implement at scale faster. People love pilots…we need to move past that.”

As speakers emphasized throughout the event, reducing food waste requires coordinated action across the food system. From preventing waste on farms and connecting surplus food with communities to improving infrastructure and changing consumer behavior, existing solutions can help move the food system toward greater sustainability.

“We do have the solutions; let’s implement them,” says Krause.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

The post “Food Waste Belongs at the Center” of Talks at Climate Week NYC appeared first on Food Tank.

Climate change is already affecting what farmers can grow, when they can plant, and how much they can harvest. Across the globe, they are navigating drought, unpredictable rainfall, and extreme heat. Meanwhile, public investment in agricultural research is uncertain, global conflicts are contributing to hunger and displacement, and food is becoming more expensive.

“I can’t overstate how intense climate impacts are for young farmers across the country right now,” says Michelle Hughes, Executive Director of the National Young Farmers Coalition, at “Putting Farmers First: How Young Farmers are Shaping the Future of Food,” which Food Tank hosted at Climate Week NYC 2026 in partnership with Whole Foods Market.

“Farming is starting to feel not only hard but borderline impossible for some folks,” says Hughes. 

And the pressures facing farmers extend beyond climate change. Sarah Jones of Jones Farms Organics, a fourth-generation, family-owned farm in Colorado’s San Luis Valley and the region’s first Regenerative Organic Certified grower, described the many roles farmers must take on to keep their businesses operating.

“We’re biologists, environmentalists, mechanics, engineers. We do marketing, sales, social media, we’re distributors, brand designers, customer service…it doesn’t end,” says Jones.

Farmers also face significant financial risks and difficult working conditions. Brita Lundberg, Fourth-Generation Farmer and Communications Manager at Lundberg Family Farms, highlighted the demands of agricultural work and the challenges of maintaining a viable livelihood.

“Farming is hard, it’s risky, and it’s capital-intensive. And still, data from the USDA shows that 84 percent of U.S. farmers take on second jobs to support their livelihoods,” says Lundberg.

For Amalia Colón-Nava, Farmer and Co-Director of Dirtbaby Farm, these economic challenges affect both farm owners and agricultural workers—and they are rooted in a long history of exploitation. 

“Whether you are a farm owner or a farm laborer, there’s a huge gap in how we can pay ourselves…So many farmers are actually not able to sell vegetables for a profit. Our food system is built off of slavery, exploited labor, and that culture still exists,” says Colón-Nava. “Food is a human right; it’s not a privilege.”

For DeVonne Jackson Perez, Co-Founder of Good Ground and Director of Brooklyn Supported Agriculture, conversations about climate resilience must account for farmers’ basic needs and working conditions. 

“We can’t really talk about climate resilience or supporting farmers without using them as if they too are a product,” says Jackson Perez. “Farming is one of the most dangerous careers that you can choose, but many don’t have healthcare.”

Speakers also pointed to gaps between consumer demand and the markets farmers need to adopt more sustainable practices. Jones says many farmers are prepared to transition to organic production but lack the buyers to make that change financially viable.

“We’ve got to get back to community over commodity,” says Jones. “Farmers are ready and willing. I could list 10 farmers that would go organic tomorrow if you give them the market.”

Creating those markets is one of the most important ways retailers can support farmers, says Sonya Gafsi Oblisk, Whole Foods Market Chief Merchandising & Marketing Officer and Vice President, Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores Private Brands & Marketing.

“As a retailer, the number-one thing we can do is really create a market and demand…There can’t be supply without demand,” says Gafsi Oblisk, who also emphasizes that transforming the food system requires changes in consumer behavior: “To change the food system at scale, we need to be able to change demand, not just supply…Vote with your wallet.”

Speakers also said that businesses must prioritize farmer input when developing sustainability initiatives.

“The first thing we need to do is listen. We have to put farmers’ voices first,” says Caitlin Leibert, Global Head of Sustainability at Amazon Grocery and Whole Foods Market. “We can’t just say as a retailer we want this…We have to invest and co-create the future we want to see.”

Building on-farm resilience through soil health and transitioning to organic practices takes more than one growing season, and farmers need to know that they will have buyers for their crops after they make the investment. This requires long-term investment, looking beyond immediate purchasing decisions.

“The top thing we can do as retailers is help commit to the supply not just for tomorrow and next month and six months from now, but what are the commitments we can make further out,” says Jason Buechel, Vice President of Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores and Chief Executive Officer of Whole Foods Market. “Many farmers depend on small, regional, local banks, where their business is considered high risk.”

For Becca Millstein, Co-Founder and CEO of Fishwife, strengthening food systems also means investing in sustainable seafood production and helping consumers understand the role of aquaculture.

“More than half of our seafood globally is produced from aquaculture, but there’s broad misunderstanding of what that means. Aquaculture has long been saddled with a really unfortunate reputation,” says Millstein, but “there are advances being made every single day in aquaculture…In many ways, aquaculture has more resilience than wild fisheries.”

Storytelling plays a major role in creating more sustainable food systems, speakers agreed. Anna Turrell, Global Chief Sustainability Officer at Mars Snacking, called for more storytelling to generate greater visibility for the farmers who supply the food industry.

“[Mars] won’t be here in the future if we don’t start investing in our supply chains differently, and bring the faces in that supply chain to light,” says Turrell. “I’d love to see the farmer faces of our food showing up everywhere in the next five years.”

Ultimately, speakers emphasized that supporting farmers requires action across the food system, from creating reliable markets and providing long-term investment to improving labor conditions and strengthening consumer connections.

“Sometimes when we get in these spaces we often think too lofty and then we don’t do anything… teach somebody, fund an organization, there are little things we can do day to day. The agriculture industry needs everything,” says Jackson Perez.

As retailers, brands, and consumers consider the future of food, the event underscored the importance of putting farmers’ needs at the center of efforts to build a more sustainable and equitable food system.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

The post Putting Farmers First to Build a Resilient Food System appeared first on Food Tank.

On Thursday evening, Sept. 24, Food Tank, New York University, and Rodale Institute will host Marion Nestle’s 90th Birthday Party at Climate Week NYC 2026. The evening will honor and celebrate Nestle’s legacy of advancing evidence-based nutrition, championing transparency in the food system, and empowering people to ask critical questions about the food we eat.

“Marion Nestle has spent her career teaching us that food is never just food. The choices we make about how we grow, sell, market, and eat shape our health, our communities, and the future of our planet,” said Jeff Tkach, CEO of the Rodale Institute.

Nestle is Professor Emerita of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University and one of the world’s most influential voices on food, nutrition, and public health. She has spent decades shaping the national conversation on food policy, corporate influence, nutrition science, and the importance of healthy, equitable food systems. Nestle is also a bestselling author of numerous acclaimed books, including Food Politics, What to Eat, Slow Cooked, and, most recently, Sugar Coated, which will be on sale in the lobby by Books On Call NYC.

With live musical performances, toasts, cake, and a fireside chat with Nestle herself, the evening will celebrate how she has inspired generations of researchers, policymakers, journalists, and advocates.

To conclude the evening, Rodale Institute will present Nestle with the Organic Stewardship Award for Lifetime Achievement in Education. Since 2011, the award has recognized individuals whose work has profoundly influenced efforts to improve the health of our agriculture and food systems. Nestle will receive the inaugural award for education, recognizing her visionary work to inspire lasting change by deepening public understanding of the vital relationship between agriculture, nutrition, environmental stewardship, and human health.

“For decades, Marion has had the courage to ask the questions others won’t, challenge conventional thinking, and bring clarity to complex issues. In doing so, she has shaped how generations understand our food system and empowered them to think more critically about their role within it,” says Tkach. “It is a privilege to honor her extraordinary body of work with Rodale Institute’s first Organic Stewardship Lifetime Achievement Award for Education.”

The evening will feature toasts to Marion Nestle by food system visionaries including Jennifer Berg, Clinical Professor and Department Chair, Nutrition and Food Studies, NYU Steinhardt; Mark Bittman, Editor-in-Chief, The Bittman Project; Nancy Easton, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Wellness in the Schools; Kathleen Finlay, President, Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming; Cathy Kaufman, Culinary Historian and Food Studies Scholar; Corby Kummer, Executive Director of Food & Society, the Aspen Institute, Senior Editor, The Atlantic, and Senior Lecturer, Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science; Frances Moore Lappé, Author and Co-Founder, Small Planet Institute; Kristie Patten, Gale and Ira Drukier Dean, NYU Steinhardt; Ruth Reichl, Author and Former Editor in Chief, Gourmet; Kim Severson, The New York Times; Max Sinsheimer, Literary Agent, Sinsheimer Literary, LLC; and Lisa Sutherland, Co-Author with Marion Nestle, Sugar Coated: Unboxing the Hidden Forces Shaping America’s Favorite Breakfast Food, and Interim President, Jacksonville University.

The event will kick off at WNYC-NPR Studios’ The Greene Space in New York City at 6:35pm with light food and live musical performances, followed by a reception until 9:30pm.

The birthday party will also feature special musical performances by Singer-Songwriter Amber Rubarth; Jake Pedersen, a Broadway and TV actor currently in Ragtime on Broadway, who recently starred as Boq in Wicked on Broadway and on tour, as well as Frankie Epps in Parade on Broadway; and Maria Caputo, a New York-based composer, pianist, vocalist, music director, and Broadway music copyist whose work spans musical theatre, jazz, classical, and contemporary music.

The event will be streamed live on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel, here. Join the Food Tank newsletter list for reminders, and click here for Food Tank’s full lineup of events at Climate Week NYC 2026.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

The post Celebrating Marion Nestle appeared first on Food Tank.

On Monday afternoon, Sept. 21, Food Tank will host the “Mission-Driven Brands Sustainability Summit” at Climate Week NYC 2026, in partnership with Bel US, Northstar Recycling, the Global Traceability Framework for Beef and Leather, and Bonterra Organic Estates.

The event is Food Tank’s annual gathering of Chief Sustainability Officers, mission-driven brand leaders, impact directors, and founders at Climate Week NYC. The afternoon will feature food system industry leaders discussing challenges and opportunities for brands to make an impact across retail, food service, and hospitality.

“We’re honored to join this conversation during Climate Week NYC and to celebrate the organizations demonstrating that purpose and commercial leadership can go hand in hand,” says Mark Kaplan, Chief Marketing and Sustainability Officer at blockchain-based traceability system Wholechain.

Speakers will explore how to build a common language for supply chains, including through solutions like The Global Traceability Framework for Beef and Leather. The pre-competitive platform for collaborative action provides a shared foundation for how traceability data is captured and exchanged, so systems can work together across companies and geographies.

“Leather has traditionally been treated as a byproduct and afterthought of the beef industry,” says Jason Weller, Chief Sustainability Officer at JBS, the world’s largest meat processor. “At JBS, we have spent years building the expertise and techniques to elevate leather as a valuable resource: tracing hides to the source farm groups, re-engineering tanning chemistry to cut water and chemical use, and performing in-depth analyses so that we understand opportunities to improve the greenhouse gas emissions performance of our products.”

“We are thrilled JBS is joining us and showing their leadership by example to advance standardized, interoperable traceability,” says Kaplan. “Their leadership shows how mission-driven brands can accelerate meaningful progress by building the common language for data sharing that benefits their entire industries.”

The conversation will also turn to regenerative agriculture and how brands can support more resilient farming systems. Panel topics and fireside chats include “Mission Driven from Brand to Shelf,” “Regenerative Agriculture Grain to Glass at Star Hill,” and “How Regenerative Vineyards Are Shaping the Future of Wine.”

Immersive tasting experiences throughout the afternoon will feature traceable beef, lobster, and honey, Bel US cheese, Maker’s Mark whiskey, and wines from Bonterra Organic Estates.

“As climate change continues to challenge our food system, we must transition from extractive to regenerative models of production,” says Beatrix Scolari, Sustainability Manager at Bonterra Organic Estates. “Food Tank provides a forum for sharing the ideas, partnerships, and practical solutions needed to make that transition possible. Bonterra is honored to join this year’s summit, and we hope participants leave inspired by the growing evidence that regenerative agriculture can both strengthen farm resilience and help restore the health of our planet.”

With lightning talks on topics like the future of circular food systems, speakers will also emphasize the importance of collaboration across the food system to turn sustainability goals into action.

“Meaningful progress in sustainability happens when leaders across the food system come together to share what’s working, challenge conventional thinking, and learn from one another. That’s what makes gatherings like this so valuable,” says Shawna Laczko, Chief Revenue Officer at Northstar Recycling. “I hope attendees leave with new perspectives, practical ideas they can take back to their organizations, and a stronger sense of how collaboration across the value chain can turn ambitious sustainability goals into real, scalable progress.”

The event will kick off at WNYC-NPR Studios’ The Greene Space in New York City at 1:30pm with food and live musical performances, followed by a reception until 5pm.

Speakers include Jordan Catalana, Senior Manager, Social Impact, Tapestry Foundation; Dana Cowin, Founder, Progressive Hedonist and Former Editor-in-Chief, Food & Wine Magazine; Stephen Cronk, Co-Founder and Trustee, The Regenerative Viticulture Foundation; Co-Founder and CEO, Maison Mirabeau; Diana Hanus, Senior Executive Vice President, Commercial & Business Development, Sovereign Seas; Ann Marie Hourigan, Head of Quality Standards, Whole Foods Market; Mark Kaplan, Chief Marketing and Sustainability Officer, Wholechain; Shawna Laczko, Chief Revenue Officer, Northstar Recycling; Elaina Leibee, Wine Director, Erewhon; Peter McGuinness, CEO, Bel North America; Sarah McMullin, Senior Vice President, Owned Brands Product Operations and Manufacturing, Target; Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank; Rob Samuels, Eighth-Generation Whisky Maker and Managing Director, Maker’s Mark; Beatrix Scolari, Sustainability Manager, Bonterra Organic Estates; and Jason Weller, Global Chief Sustainability Officer, JBS.

“Mission Driven Brands Sustainability Summit” will feature a special musical performance by Daniel Quadrino, Broadway actor currently starring as Boq in Wicked, with additional Broadway credits including The Who’s Tommy, Newsies, and Bye Bye Birdie. He will be joined by Ryan Fielding Garrett, a New York City-based composer, music director, orchestrator, and musician whose Broadway credits include Kinky Boots, Wicked, Back to the Future, The Notebook, and Mean Girls.

This summit will be streamed live on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel, here. Join the Food Tank newsletter list for reminders, and click here for Food Tank’s full lineup of events at Climate Week NYC 2026.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

The post Food and Agriculture Businesses Tackle Food Sustainability at Climate Week NYC appeared first on Food Tank.

On Thursday morning, Sept. 24, Food Tank will host “Chefs Save the World” at Climate Week NYC 2026, in partnership with The James Beard Foundation and CARE. The morning will highlight how culinary leaders are using their platforms to drive meaningful impact in their communities and beyond.

Chefs are far more than culinary innovators. From reducing food waste and supporting regenerative agriculture to championing local producers, improving nutrition, and responding to humanitarian crises, they are helping shape a more sustainable and equitable food system.

Discussions will feature voices of global farmers, explore the barriers facing women farmers, and highlight the solutions—including those in partnership with chefs—driving meaningful change.

“Every meal served today starts with a farmer, and in much of the world that farmer is a woman working land she does not own, in a climate she did not destabilize, with less access to credit, seed, and training than the men farming beside her,” says Maria Hinson Tobin, Executive Director of Agribusiness Partnerships at CARE.

“Women are feeding their families, their communities, and contributing to the world’s food resources. Their resilience is the most undervalued asset in the global food system, and events like this exist to make sure it stops being invisible.”

The event will kick off at WNYC-NPR Studios’ The Greene Space in New York City at 9am with breakfast and live musical performances, followed by a reception including lunch until 12:45pm.

Speakers and performers include Chef Fariyal Abdullahi, Executive Chef and Partner, Hav & Mar; Chef Bleu Adams, Executive Chef, Black Lamb Group, and Director, IndigeHub; Fernando González, Co-Founder and Pitmaster, 2Fifty Texas BBQ; Roman Goron, French-Filipino-American jazz pianist, composer, and producer at Juilliard; Erica Helms, Chief Growth Officer, James Beard Foundation; Emily Janoch, Associate Vice President for Evidence and Learning, CARE; Ellie Krieger, Dietitian and Nutritionist, Host of Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger on Food Network and Ellie’s Real Good Food on PBS, and Columnist, The Washington Post; Anne E. McBride, PhD, Vice President of Impact, James Beard Foundation; Taylor Montgomery, James Beard Award-Winning Chef, Farmer, and Co-Founder, Montgomery Sky Farm; Liz Murray, Chief Operating Officer, The Marlow Collective; Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank; Chris Noble, Associate Vice President, Corporate Partnerships, CARE; Chef Grace Ramirez, Chef, La Latina Cocina and Aramark Collegiate Hospitality; Nishant Roy, Chief Impact Officer, Chobani; Deena Shanker, Writer, Bloomberg Businessweek; Chef Sean Sherman, Founder and Executive Director, NĀTIFS (North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems); Janae Yates, New York-based drummer, composer, and bandleader who studied at Juilliard and has performed at Lincoln Center and internationally; and Andrew Zimmern, Emmy- and James Beard Award-winning chef, television host, author, and food advocate.

“Chefs Save the World” will feature a special musical performance by Nick T. Daly, an actor, singer, and dancer currently appearing Off-Broadway in The Heart; previously in MJ the Musical on Broadway. He will be joined by Elijah Caldwell, an OBIE Award-winning actor, singer, pianist, and music director whose credits include A Strange Loop Off-Broadway and the national tour of Shucked.

This summit will be streamed live on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel, here. Join the Food Tank newsletter list for reminders, and click here for Food Tank’s full lineup of events at Climate Week NYC 2026.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

The post Chefs Driving Climate Action at Climate Week NYC appeared first on Food Tank.

On Friday morning, Sept. 25, Food Tank will host the “Water and Blue Foods Summit” at Climate Week NYC 2026, in partnership with Future Food Institute, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and Venice Climate Week.

Water connects every aspect of our food systems, public health, ecosystems, and communities. The summit will bring together leaders working across oceans, fisheries, blue foods, water, climate, public health, and global justice to explore how healthier aquatic ecosystems and communities can help build a more peaceful, equitable, and resilient future.

“We began this journey in Venice, during our Climate Week, promoting a simple but radical idea: we are citizens of a water planet, our ‘Planet Aqua.’ Water is the resource of life, and the blue resource—in all its forms—must be addressed from every perspective: from food to energy, from ecosystems to human health, mental health and longevity,” says Sara Roversi, President of the Future Food Institute, Founder of Paideia Campus, and producer of the Venice Climate Week.

“This is why we are proud to continue this conversation in New York with Food Tank: because water cannot be a topic we discuss once a year. It must become a daily priority for regeneration, prosperity and planetary care.”

Panel discussions will explore both global and national perspectives on blue communities, blue food, and fisheries, as well as water crises and water bankruptcy.

“Climate change is transforming our ocean, creating challenges for coastal communities around the world. In the Mediterranean Sea, warmer waters have contributed to the spread of blue swimming crab, an invasive species that is disrupting marine ecosystems and threatening local fisheries and livelihoods,” says Wendy Norden, Global Programs Director of Global Ocean Conservation at Monterey Bay Aquarium.

“Some countries are finding ways to turn this challenge into an opportunity that benefits both people and the environment, and we look forward to sharing these stories of resilience and collaboration at the Water and Blue Foods Summit.”

Speakers include Jenn Kemmerly, Vice President of Global Ocean Conservation, Monterey Bay Aquarium; David Laborde, Director, Agrifood Economics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Riccardo Luna, Co-Curator, Venice Climate Week; Kaveh Madani, Director, United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health; Sarisher Mann, Director of Sustainable Finance Engagement, BNP Paribas; Kathleen McDavitt, Senior Programs Manager for North America, Aquaculture Stewardship Council; Laura McDearis, US Program Director, Marine Stewardship Council; Lela Nargi, Journalist and Author; Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank; Wendy Norden, Director of Science and Global Strategies, Monterey Bay Aquarium; Joshua Perry, Seafood Coordinator, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets; Stefano Pisani, Mayor of Pollica, Italy, and Mediterranean Diet Advocate; Sara Roversi, Founder, Future Food Institute; Carlotta Santolini, Marine Biologist and Group Leader, Blueat La Pescheria Sostineble; Barton Seaver, Chef, Author Sustainability Fellow at the New England Aquarium, and Director of the Sustainable Seafood and Health Initiative at Harvard; Brendan Shane, Director of Philanthropy Special Projects and Climate Advisor, Trust for Public Land; Michael Sheldrick, Co-Founder and Chief Policy, Impact & Government Relations Officer, Global Citizen; Simone Venturini, Mayor of Venice; and Kate Warren, Executive Vice President and Executive Editor, Devex.

The event will kick off at WNYC-NPR Studios’ The Greene Space in New York City at 6:35pm with light food and live musical performances, followed by a reception until 9:30pm.

The “Water and Blue Foods Summit” will feature special musical performances by Blu Allen, a Broadway actor, singer, and dancer currently appearing in MJ the Musical, with previous credits including Titanique. He will be joined by Elijah Caldwell, an OBIE Award-winning actor, singer, pianist, and music director whose credits include A Strange Loop Off-Broadway and the national tour of Shucked.

The event will be streamed live on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel, here. Join the Food Tank newsletter list for reminders, and click here for Food Tank’s full lineup of events at Climate Week NYC 2026.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

The post Why Blue Foods Matter to the Future of Food appeared first on Food Tank.

Food Tank, in partnership with Whole Foods Market, will kick off Climate Week NYC 2026 on the evening of Sunday, September 20, by hosting “Putting Farmers First: How Young Farmers Are Shaping the Future of Food.” The free event will celebrate the next generation of farmers and food systems leaders who are redefining agriculture through innovation, resilience, and climate leadership.

Farmers in the United States are facing a generational challenge. While the number of new and young producers is beginning to rise, farmers overall are getting older: The average age of U.S. producers increased from 56.3 in 2012 to 58.1 in 2022. At the same time, the total number of farms fell by about 7 percent between 2017 and 2022.

This makes supporting young and beginning producers increasingly important. New farmers face significant barriers to entering and staying in agriculture, including access to affordable land and capital, housing, health care, production costs, and climate-related risks.

“At Whole Foods Market, we believe that investing in the next generation of farmers is one of the most important things we can do—for our food system, for our customers, and for our planet,” says Sonya Gafsi Oblisk, Chief Merchandising & Marketing Officer at Whole Foods Market and Vice President of Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores Private Brands & Marketing.

“We’re proud to partner with Food Tank during Climate Week to put their voices front and center, because when farmers thrive, we all thrive.”

Sessions will include a young farmer storyteller panel with an immersive video and tasting experience. Panelists will explore what it means to be a farmer today, how to work better with farmers, and how to elevate farmers’ voices among those influential in this space.

A panel of three consumer packaged goods company CEOs who have signed the pledge to support farmers—Brita Lundberg of Lundberg Family Farms, Becca Millstein of Fishwife, and Anna Turrell of Mars Snacking—will also join the stage. The discussion will explore how to humanize the farmer connection for consumers, why supporting farmers is a winning business angle, and the need for greater transparency from food companies.

The event will kick off at WNYC-NPR Studios’ The Greene Space in New York City at 6:30pm with food, drink, and live musical performances, followed by a reception until 9:40pm.

Speakers include Jason Buechel, Vice President, Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores and Chief Executive Officer, Whole Foods Market; Amalia Colón-Nava, Farmer and Co-Director, Dirtbaby Farm; Michelle Hughes, Executive Director, National Young Farmers Coalition; Sarah Jones, Jones Farms Organic, Hooper, Colorado; DeVonne Jackson Perez, Brooklyn-based Urban Farmer and Sustainability Educator; Emily Grant, R&S Acres, diversified/livestock farmer, Genesee County; Caitlin Liebert, Head of Sustainability, Worldwide Grocery, Whole Foods Market; Brita Lundberg, Fourth-Generation Farmer, Lundberg Family Farms; Becca Millstein, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Fishwife; Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank; Sonya Gafsi Oblisk, Chief Merchandising & Marketing Officer, Whole Foods Market and Vice President, Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores Private Brands & Marketing; and Anna Turrell, Global Chief Sustainability Officer, Mars Snacking.

“Putting Farmers First: How Young Farmers Are Shaping the Future of Food” will feature a special musical performance by Tristen Buettel, Broadway actor, singer, and dancer currently appearing in Just in Time, where she covers Connie Francis and Sandra Dee, following roles in BOOP! The Musical, Bad Cinderella, and Jersey Boys. She will be joined by Cullen Curth, New York City-based pianist, music director, and conductor who recently made his Broadway conducting debut with Just in Time.

This summit will be streamed live on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube Channel, here. Join the Food Tank newsletter list for reminders, and click here for Food Tank’s full lineup of events at Climate Week NYC 2026.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

The post Young Farmers Shaping the Future of Food appeared first on Food Tank.

Ukraine may be heading toward one of its strongest harvests since the start of the full-scale war. But in 2026, the central question is no longer how much grain the country can produce. It is how much of that harvest can actually reach buyers.

According to the Ukrainian Grain Association, Ukraine’s combined grain and oilseed harvest could reach 84.6 million metric tons in 2026, up from roughly 80 million metric tons in 2025. As of September 15, 2026, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine reported over 24.9 million metric tons of wheat and 6.4 million metric tons of barley being harvested. The country is expected to harvest 32.1 million metric tons of corn. If logistics operate without major disruptions, Ukraine’s export potential could approach 52 million metric tons in the 2026/27 marketing year, compared with 41.1 million metric tons in the previous season.

These figures highlight the extraordinary adaptability of Ukrainian agriculture. Farmers continue to work through air raid alerts, cultivate land near the front lines and in mined lands, and cope with labor shortages, damaged machinery, unstable electricity supplies, and rising production costs.

These numbers are impressive, although they should not be read in isolation. For many producers, the situation on the ground remains considerably more difficult than aggregate harvest data would suggest.

Yet a strong harvest alone does not guarantee food system resilience. Ukraine’s challenge is increasingly shifting from production to access. Farmers may be able to grow the grain, but whether they can move it efficiently, safely, and affordably to international markets will determine the real value of the 2026 harvest.

For Ukraine, that difference matters not only for export revenues. It will also shape farmers’ ability to finance the next planting season, maintain stable production, and remain economically viable under prolonged wartime conditions. And for the rest of the world, the stakes extend far beyond Ukraine’s borders. The country remains a key supplier to global grain markets, meaning that disruptions to its exports can reverberate through food prices, trade routes, and economies dependent on food imports. Ukraine may have the harvest. The harder question is whether the world will be able to receive it.

The harvest is there. Logistics are the bottleneck. In August and September, the scale of Ukraine’s logistics challenge became especially clear. According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, between August 1 and 26 the country exported 1.423 million metric tons of grains, oilseeds, and processed agricultural products—only about one-third of its potential export volume. Grain exports alone totaled 822 thousand metric tons, or roughly 21 percent of the potential volume needed. Logistics issues worsen grain storage shortages, with slow exports threatening an 8–11 million ton domestic deficit by November.

The problem, then, is not a lack of grain or a lack of buyers. It is the physical ability to deliver agricultural products from Ukrainian farms to global markets. Black Sea ports remain essential to Ukraine’s agricultural trade. According to the Ukrainian Grain Association, seaports handle around 90 percent of the country’s grain and oilseed exports, while overland and other alternative routes cannot fully replace maritime shipping. Due to continuing logistics constraints caused by the war, Ukraine could lose nearly US$10 billion in potential agricultural exports.

There is another problem—the cost of alternatives. According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, shifting agricultural exports to alternative routes in August increased logistics costs by at least US$50 per metric ton. In particular Atria Brokers reports an increase in freight rates for shipping corn on 6-thousand-ton coasters from Danube River ports to the Mediterranean reaching US$105 per ton as of September 10, 2026, compared to US$28 in June-July 2026. For a relatively low-value bulk commodity such as grain, that additional cost can absorb a significant share of a farmer’s margin. The result is a striking paradox. Global grain prices can rise as Black Sea supplies become tighter, while prices received by Ukrainian farmers can fall because grain accumulates inside the country. In other words, the same disruption that makes Ukrainian grain more valuable on the world market can make it less profitable for the farmers who produce it.

Global markets are already responding to lower Ukrainian supplies.This is no longer only a Ukrainian problem. In August, the FAO Food Price Index rose to 133.3 points, up 1.9 percent from the previous month and 2.5 percent from a year earlier. The FAO Cereal Price Index increased by 2.2 percent, while international wheat prices rose 2.6 percent over the month and were already 15 percent higher than a year earlier. FAO identified disruptions to Black Sea logistics as one of the factors contributing to higher prices. The wheat market has reacted even more sharply. According to Reuters, by August 20 Chicago wheat futures had risen by more than 17 percent since the beginning of July.
Black Sea wheat was trading at roughly US$260-280 per metric ton for August-September arrivals, while replacing those supplies with Australian wheat could cost Asian buyers around US$315–320 per metric ton. For wealthier countries, this mostly means paying more for grain. For import-dependent economies, the consequences can be far more serious. According to Reuters, Egypt sourced more than 82 percent of its imported wheat from Russia and Ukraine combined during the first half of 2026. Algeria, Jordan, Tunisia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and other major importers also remain highly dependent on supplies from the Black Sea region.

For these countries, higher grain prices are not simply a trade issue. They can translate into larger food import bills, greater pressure on public budgets, and higher prices for basic foods. That is why disruptions to Black Sea trade are increasingly shifting from a regional logistics problem into a driver of global food price inflation.

When Ukraine cannot export, other countries fill the gap. One of the clearest signs of how global grain trade is shifting comes from Argentina. According to Reuters, Argentina’s corn exports are expected to reach a record 10 million metric tons in August and September 2026 while the usual export volumes for August-September reach about 3 million tons. Argentina is also getting more active in the global sunflower and soybean oil and meal markets due to tighter supply from the Black Sea region, increasing competition. This is especially relevant for India and the EU, which remain key destinations for both Argentine and Ukrainian products.

Competition is also increasing in oilseed markets. Argentina is expanding its supplies of soybean and sunflower oil to Europe and India, while Brazil continues to strengthen its position as a major soybean supplier to China. Russia is also redirecting grain and vegetable oil exports to alternative markets, further intensifying competition for Ukraine.

One reason is that buyers are looking for alternatives to Ukrainian supplies disrupted by the war and constraints on Black Sea shipping. The shift is especially visible in North Africa, a region that has traditionally been an important market for Ukrainian grain. During the first seven months of 2026, Argentine corn shipments to North Africa increased by 45 percent. Morocco’s imports of Argentine corn jumped 133 percent year over year, while Egypt increased purchases by 48 percent and Algeria by 10 percent. These figures point to an important economic shift. When Ukraine loses export capacity for several months, the consequences extend beyond lost revenue. Buyers find new suppliers, shipping companies reorganize routes, and commercial relationships begin to shift toward competitors.

And once those relationships are established, they may not immediately reverse. Even if Ukraine restores the full capacity of its ports, regaining some export markets could take time. The longer disruptions persist, the greater the risk that what begins as a temporary logistics problem becomes a longer-term loss of market share. In this sense, the cost of disrupted exports is not measured only in the grain that fails to leave Ukraine today. It may also be measured in the markets Ukraine has to win back tomorrow.

The biggest risk is not this year’s harvest, but the next one. Ukraine’s export problem is quickly becoming a liquidity problem for farmers. Grain sales finance the next production cycle. They pay for seeds, fertilizer, fuel, land rent, wages, machinery repairs, and loan repayments. When grain remains in storage, a farmer’s working capital is effectively locked up with it. That is why a large harvest can paradoxically weaken the producer who grew it. As of September 15, 2026, at Ukrainian ports, prices for food and feed wheat stood at $167-177 per ton and $146-155 per ton CPT port, respectively. If farmers are forced to sell at depressed domestic prices while absorbing higher logistics costs, they may respond by cutting fertilizer use, delaying machinery purchases, or reducing the area they plant the following season. Small and medium-sized farms are particularly vulnerable because they typically have less working capital and less capacity to store grain while waiting for better prices.

A U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization assessment of more than 2,800 rural households across nine frontline regions of Ukraine illustrates the scale of this pressure. One in three surveyed households reported declining income over the previous year. Among families that rely primarily on agriculture for their livelihoods, 48 percent reported income losses. More than three-quarters of surveyed households were already drawing down savings, borrowing money, or cutting essential expenses, including spending on health care and education, to cope with financial pressure.

These figures point to a broader lesson about agricultural resilience. Resilience cannot be measured only by how many tons of grain Ukraine harvests this year; it should be assessed in terms of the production sustainability, which depends on whether farmers have enough liquidity to buy inputs, maintain equipment, keep workers employed, and plant again next season. A record harvest today means little if producers cannot afford to produce another one tomorrow.

Storage can buy time, but it cannot solve the problem. If export constraints persist, Ukraine will face another challenge—where to store the new harvest. Logistics issues worsen grain storage shortages, with slow exports threatening an 8–11 million ton domestic deficit by November. According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, international partners have already confirmed around US$10.5 million in support for temporary storage solutions, including grain bags. Ukraine is also finalizing discussions with the World Bank over an additional US$25 million in assistance.

This support is important, especially for smaller farms and producers in front-line regions. But storage can only buy time. It does not create a buyer. It does not lower transportation costs. And it does not restore the working capital that farmers need for the next production cycle. Temporary storage can help prevent immediate losses and give producers greater flexibility in choosing when to sell. But it cannot substitute for functioning export routes. The real solution is stable and predictable access to international markets. Without such access, additional storage risks becoming nothing more than an enlarged “waiting room” for grain that still has nowhere to be sold.

One question is will Europe and the Danube replace the Black Sea? The European Union has already helped build one of the most important backup logistics systems for Ukrainian trade. According to the European Commission, the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes have enabled the export of nearly 230 million metric tons of Ukrainian goods since May 2022, including around 94 million metric tons of grain, oilseeds, and related products. Without these routes, the consequences of disruptions to maritime trade would have been far more severe. But August 2026 also showed the limits of an overland solution. According to the Ukrainian government, between August 1 and 26, roughly 600,000 metric tons of agricultural products moved by rail and another 600,000 metric tons through the Danube, while road transport accounted for only about 80,000 metric tons.

For grain, this difference matters. Maritime shipping can move enormous volumes of relatively low-value bulk commodities over long distances at lower cost. Moving the same quantities by thousands of railcars and trucks is slower, more expensive, and constrained by border capacity, infrastructure, and transshipment bottlenecks. The Danube, rail links, and road corridors are therefore indispensable as alternative routes. They provide resilience when Black Sea access is disrupted and reduce Ukraine’s dependence on a single export channel.

But due to their limited throughput capacity, they cannot fully replace deep-water seaports. Europe’s overland routes should be treated as a strategic backup and a permanent part of a more diversified export system—not as a substitute for secure Black Sea shipping. For Ukraine’s grain economy, resilience ultimately requires both: strong connections to Europe and reliable access to the sea.

Ukraine needs more than one corridor. It needs a resilient food system. Ukraine’s first priority must remain the security of maritime exports. That means protecting ports, transport networks, and energy infrastructure, while expanding war-risk insurance mechanisms for shipping companies and agricultural businesses.

The second priority is protecting farmers’ financial cycle. Affordable credit, guarantees, grants, warehouse-receipt financing, and access to insurance can help producers avoid being forced to sell grain when domestic prices are at their lowest. Without that financial buffer, even a strong harvest can leave farmers short of the cash they need to plant the next one.

A third priority is expanding the capacity of the Danube, rail, and border infrastructure. The EU–Ukraine Solidarity Lanes have already demonstrated their strategic value. But the current crisis also shows that these routes need greater capacity, faster border procedures, and continued investment if they are to serve as a reliable long-term component of Ukraine’s export system.

And Ukraine needs to move further up the agricultural value chain. Producing more flour, animal feed, vegetable oils, starch, bioethanol, and other higher-value products would reduce the country’s dependence on a model in which economic performance is determined largely by how many tons of raw grain can physically leave through a port. Processing cannot replace grain exports. But it can diversify revenue, create jobs, reduce the value lost to high transport costs, and make the agricultural economy more resilient to logistics shocks.

Ukraine also needs predictable trade rules with the European Union. Farmers make production decisions months before harvest. Uncertainty over quotas, transit conditions, or national restrictions adds another layer of risk to an already unpredictable wartime environment. The broader lesson is that Ukraine does not need a single replacement for the Black Sea. It needs a diversified food and export system in which secure maritime trade, European land routes, financial support, storage, processing, and predictable market access reinforce one another. Resilience will come not from one corridor, but from having multiple options when any one of them fails. Ukraine will have bread. The question is what the world will pay.

Ukraine does not currently face a physical shortage of grain for domestic consumption. The Ukrainian government has stressed that the country is producing enough to meet its own food needs. But the global market is already feeling the effects of disruptions to Black Sea trade.

Ukrainian grain can theoretically be replaced by supplies from Argentina, Australia, the United States, Canada, and other major exporters. But that substitution comes at a cost. It reshapes trade flows, lengthens shipping routes, increases freight and insurance expenses, and adds pressure to food-importing countries that are often the least able to absorb higher prices. That is why Ukraine’s 2026 harvest is more than a test of the country’s agricultural sector. It exposes one of the central vulnerabilities of the global food system: producing food is not enough. Food must also be moved safely, predictably, and affordably to the people who need it.

There is also a broader point here. Ukraine’s experience since 2022 has shown how closely agricultural production, transport security, trade policy, and global food security are now connected. Treating them as separate policy questions no longer makes much sense. Ukrainian farmers have already proven that they are capable of continuing grain production under the extraordinary conditions of a full-scale war. The question now is whether the international community can help ensure that this grain reaches global markets. Because the success of Ukraine’s harvest should not be measured only by what is grown in its fields. It should also be measured by whether that food can reach the tables that depend on it.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Raimond Spekking, Wikimedia Commons

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At major events like Climate Week NYC, we do a lot of talking. Over the course of the week, hundreds of experts and inspiring changemakers cross our stage. I almost always have a water bottle with me when I’m moderating these discussions, because my voice gets tired!

But we can’t just talk about addressing the climate crisis. We have to do something. There’s a reason phrases like “actions speak louder than words” and “leading by example” are repeated so often: They’re 100 percent true.

The discussions we’re having—from Climate Week NYC next week to COP31 later this year and beyond—are most valuable when each of us takes what we’re hearing and learning and translates these into on-the-ground solutions. In this newsletter last week and this week, we’re highlighting 13 (a baker’s dozen!) of the many steps that are already being taken across the global food system.

Find out more about our amazing lineup for Climate Week NYC—featuring more than 225 speakers and performers from September 20 to 25—by CLICKING HERE. And all 13 of our Summits are being livestreamed, so you can tune in from wherever you live!

Here’s this week’s crop of seven solutions:

Telling people-centered food stories

I’ve said before that storytelling can change the world, and that’s no exaggeration! Films and documentaries—and other forms of media, from books to podcasts to articles—can bring viewers to the front lines of food system action, forge powerful personal connections to complex topics, and elevate success stories that can then be shared and replicated for even broader impacts.

“There is a love story in every practice of agriculture, and as we face an increasingly mechanized world, stories coming from the heart are the path towards a more sustainable, prosperous, and empathetic future,” says Haven Worley, the director of “Irish Farmers: A Love Story,” Food Tank’s debut documentary short.

Teaching optimism to future food leaders

Over many decades as one of the country’s top food policy experts, professor and nutritionist Marion Nestle—who celebrated her 90th birthday last week!—has guided generations of eaters, students, and policymakers toward a deeper understanding of the food system. One of the countless lessons I’ve learned from Marion is that true mentorship is not just about navigating the world as it is today; it’s about seeing the world as it could be and developing the tools to make that into reality.

“I deeply believe that setting goals—even those that seem highly unattainable—is a useful public health strategy,” Marion wrote in a 90th birthday reflection blog post. “Unrealistic goals can educate, expand expectations, promote critical thinking, motivate action, attract resources, and encourage accountability.”

Integrating food into the school day beyond the cafeteria

Organizations from Pilot Light to Wellness in the Schools are redefining food education, ensuring that children from a young age are thinking critically about where food comes from, developing tools to fuel their bodies and minds, and reflecting on how they can be agents of change to drive climate action.

“Incredible work is already happening in food education, but the question now is how we build on it so every student has the opportunity to learn about food,” says Alex DeSorbo-Quinn, Executive Director of Pilot Light.

Making better consumer choices feel achievable

Food Tankers know how impactful our food choices are: What we eat matters not just for our individual bodies but for the entire food system, too. But educating consumers—and getting folks to actually change their behavior—is easier said than done, which is why any accessible resource goes a long way. For example, the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch provides well-researched recommendations that encompass some ¾ of U.S. market seafood and half of global seafood, plus restaurants and major companies committed to sustainable blue food systems.

“I think it really is important to know that the choices we make do matter at the grocery store. They do mean something,” says Wendy Norden, Director of Science and Global Strategies at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. “And they help us do our work and improve, because we want to celebrate seafood.”

Giving chefs a platform as food systems leaders

Here’s an idea: What if our food policy were influenced less by politicians taking donations from major food corporations, and instead shaped by people who know food better than anyone: Chefs! While the Trump-Vance Administration was reshaping the “food pyramid” of dietary guidelines for all Americans, Chef Sean Sherman, a.k.a. The Sioux Chef, had a better idea. He created what he calls the Regional Indigenous Nutritional Guide, or the RING Diet, which helps us eat in ways that match the places we actually live.

“The RING Diet is a living guide, and one you could actually use,” Chef Sherman, the founder of Native American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS) writes. “You can use it to learn about your own region, its seasons, its plants and animals and the precious nutrients they offer and how they work within our bodily systems. A tool to teach your kids, to plan a week of eating, to reconnect with the specific foods of the specific place you stand on.”

Working smarter to nourish the future

It’s easy to list off a couple examples of foods that are healthy and a couple that are not. It’s much more difficult to explain why—what specific biomolecules make up our foods and how each one impacts systems in our bodies. This is why I both admire and am awestruck by the Periodic Table of Food Initiative (PTFI), which is creating data systems to map out these biomolecules and translate that research into action.

As PTFI Global Director Selena Ahmed and other experts write in a joint Op-Ed, “We cannot fix what we do not measure. … Without knowing what’s actually in our food, the tens of thousands of molecules, we cannot design food systems that sustain health.”

Embedding resilience into entire supply chains

We typically think of certifications like organic in the context of individual farms or food producers—but what about entire supply chains? Take a new carbon insetting program in the organic dairy industry, for example: Collaboration across the supply chain is creating a model for private-sector companies like Organic Valley, UNFI, and Whole Foods Market to work together to reduce emissions and build resilience. This is a step toward the kind of big-picture thinking we need to see across the entire food system!

“When we collaborate across the value chain, we unlock new ways to reduce emissions, meet climate goals, and support the people at the heart of it all—our farmers,” says Jessica Luhning, Organic Valley’s Senior Sustainability Manager.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Polina Kuzovkova , Unsplash

The post These Solutions Are a Roadmap to a Stronger Food System, Part II appeared first on Food Tank.

On Thursday afternoon, Sept. 24, Food Tank will host “Acting at the Speed of Crisis: Challenges & Opportunities for Food Security Rapid Response” at Climate Week NYC 2026, in partnership with RAAPID and the Arrell Food Institute. The summit will explore how organizations can rapidly mobilize resources, leverage innovation, and build more resilient systems to meet urgent food security needs. 

“Food security crises rarely happen in isolation. Severe weather, conflict, supply chain disruptions, and other pressures can compound quickly, while the information needed to understand what is happening on the ground often arrives too slowly. We now have the tools to change that,” says Inbal Becker-Reshef, Managing Director of Microsoft AI for Good Lab and Founder of RAAPID. 

Food security emergencies are becoming more frequent, more complex, and more interconnected, driven by conflict, climate change, economic instability, and public health crises. Responding effectively requires not only speed, but stronger coordination across governments, nonprofits, researchers, and the private sector. 

“By bringing together Earth observations, AI, and expert networks, we can turn complex signals into actionable information when decisions can still prevent a shock from becoming a crisis. The challenge now is building the system and investments needed to make that capability available when and where it matters most,” says Becker-Reshef.

Experts will identify opportunities to strengthen preparedness, collaboration, and long-term resilience for communities around the world. Panel discussions will cover topics including the power of geopolitics and food, as well as how climate change is fueling more frequent food crises.

“As climate change escalates and more people around the world face crop failure and food precarity, anticipatory action becomes absolutely essential,” says Evan Fraser, Executive Director of the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph. 

“Anticipatory action is not an optional extra. Combining remote monitoring with on-the-ground context means that emergency aid can go where it is most urgently needed, and we can identify the supports and buffers required to prevent catastrophic failure.” 

The event will kick off at WNYC-NPR Studios’ The Greene Space in New York City at 1:30pm with lunch and live musical performances, followed by a reception until 4:30pm.

Speakers include Governor David Beasley, Trustee, The Rockefeller Foundation; Former Governor, South Carolina and Former Executive Director, United Nations World Food Programme; Inbal Becker-Reshef, Managing Director, Microsoft AI for Good Lab, Founder & Co-Director NASA Harvest, and Founder, RAAPID; Ambassador Ertharin Cousin, Founder and CEO, Food Systems for the Future; Máximo Torero Cullen, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Evan Fraser, Executive Director, Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph; Ruth Hill, Director, Markets, Trade, and Institutions, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); Melissa Mahtani, International Affairs Journalist; Adam Met, Musician of multi-Platinum band AJR, Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, and Climate Activist; Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank; Ambassador Philip Thigo, MBS, Special Envoy on Technology, Office of the President of Kenya; Michael Werz, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations; Simon Winter, Vice President for Reimagining Humanitarian Nutrition Security, Rockefeller Foundation Catalytic Capital (RFCC); and Andrew Zolli, Chief Impact Officer, Planet.

“Acting at the Speed of Crisis” will feature a special musical performance by Oluchi Nwaokorie, Broadway actor and singer currently Elphaba standby in Wicked, following performances in the Parade National Tour and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. She will be joined by Noah Turner, Music Director, Conductor, Pianist, and Arranger.

This summit will be streamed live on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel, here. Join the Food Tank newsletter list for reminders, and click here for Food Tank’s full lineup of events at Climate Week NYC 2026.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

The post Rethinking the Future of Food Security at Climate Week NYC appeared first on Food Tank.

This article is part of Food Tank’s primer series, “Food Tank Explains.” Each installment unpacks the ideas, innovations, and challenges shaping today’s food and agriculture systems, offering clear insights into complex topics. To explore more articles in the series, click here.

The H-2A program allows United States agricultural employers to hire foreign workers temporarily or seasonally when there are insufficient qualified and available U.S. workers.

Since its inception, the H-2A program has grown exponentially. The U.S. Department of State (DOS) issued 44 H-2A visas in the program’s first year in 1987. It has become the nation’s largest temporary visa program, with more than 315,000 visas issued in 2024.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) certified 48,000 H-2A positions in 2005 and more than 398,000 in 2025. H-2A workers now are one sixth of the U.S. agricultural labor force, and data suggest H-2A growth is continuing. In the first half of 2026, DOL certified 17 percent more positions than it did during the same period in 2025.

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), increasing H-2A demand is a direct reflection of the U.S. labor force. H-2A jobs arise from a proven lack of domestic interest in seasonal work, the organization says.

In 2025, U.S. workers applied for less than 0.04 percent of requested positions. “The lack of available labor is among the largest limiting factors of American agriculture,” says Zippy Duvall, AFBF President. “Most Americans don’t want to work on farms.”

To qualify for the H-2A program, agricultural employers must have a temporary or seasonal need for full-time labor. Employers apply for certification from DOL while recruiting U.S. workers for the positions. The employer must demonstrate that enough able, willing, qualified, and available U.S. workers cannot be found and that employing H-2A workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.

The employer then petitions U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Once approved, prospective workers may apply to DOS for H-2A visas. Employers must provide workers with housing, three meals per day, and convenient cooking facilities, and provide or pay for required transportation and travel expenses.

The program’s growth has occurred alongside widespread reports of fraud, labor violations, and worker exploitation. From 2018 through 2023, DOL investigated 2,857 H-2A employers. 84 percent uncovered at least one violation.

Though charging a fee for recruitment is illegal recruiters have charged workers thousands of dollars to secure H-2A jobs. Other schemes have collected money for jobs that do not exist. Documented on-farm violations range from wage theft and inadequate housing to retaliation and dangerous working conditions. Polaris’s Trafficking Hotline identified 2,841 H-2A visa holders who were victims of labor trafficking.

H-2A workers often live in remote camps with limited digital connectivity, Stacy Rhodes of the Agricultural Workers Advocacy Coalition (AWAC), tells Food Tank. This seclusion, coupled with language barriers, and limited access to legal assistance makes reporting abuses difficult.

Workers risk losing employment, immigration status, or future job opportunities if they assert their rights, Maggie Gray, Adelphi University Professor and Author of Labor and the Locavore: The Making of a Comprehensive Food Ethic, tells Food Tank. As a result, H-2A workers are unlikely to advocate for themselves.

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) reports that DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), tasked with federal enforcement, is “underfunded and understaffed,” with 800 WHD investigators monitoring 165 million workers. DOS describes oversight of temporary worker programs as “weak,” while EPI calls it “woefully inadequate.”

Stakeholders broadly agree that the H-2A program needs reform but differ over what those reforms should address. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union opposes any increase in the program, while some farmers, worried for their labor supply amid a labor shortage, have sought to expand H-2A. House Agriculture Chair G.T. Thompson, alongside organizations including the American Dairy Coalition, Dairy Business Milk Marketing Cooperative, and the CATO institute, have proposed legislation extending the program to jobs that aren’t seasonal or temporary, like dairy, cattle, and pork producers.

United Farm Workers (UFW) has taken DOL to court, asserting that a rule reducing wages for U.S. farm workers and H-2A workers is unlawful. Meanwhile, other organizations and farmers complain that the cost of H-2A wages, transportation, and housing are too expensive. Increasing fees have hit farmer’s margins in nearly every step of the H-2A filing process, the AFBF describes.

The Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) and UFW focus on changing labor practices within the existing system. EFI certifies farms that meet standards for worker treatment and safety, while UFW has supported policies that would allow H-2A workers greater freedom to change employers without losing legal status.

Others organizations advocate community action. “we need to see more and more communities organizing,” says Gerardo Reyes Chavez of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. Rather than settle, he continued, workers and organizers should “set examples with things that actually work through the market.”

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

The post Food Tank Explains: H-2A Visa Program appeared first on Food Tank.

On Wednesday, Sept. 23, Food Tank will host “The Roots of Organic: From Soil to Shelf” at Climate Week NYC 2026, in partnership with Organic Trade Association, Organic Valley, Once Upon a Farm, Handsome Brook Farms, Stonyfield, and Amy’s Kitchen, and in collaboration with Organic Voices, Lundberg Family Farms, Tradin Organic, and Rodale Institute.

The all-day, invitation-only summit will celebrate the organic movement’s journey while charting its path forward. 

“This event is a timely opportunity to shine a light on the important connection and benefits of organic for positive climate impact,” said Matthew Dillon, Co-CEO of the Organic Trade Association. ”We expect attendees to gain inspiration and insight from the expertise of the farmers, scientists, and industry leaders who will be taking the stage—this will be a day to come together for knowledge sharing, problem-solving, and collective action to continue to drive the US$76 billion organic sector forward.” 

Panel discussions will explore science and innovation in organic practices, organic’s current successes and challenges, and how to move collectively with commitment, innovation, and inspiration into the future. 

Much of the conversation will focus on the farm, including farmers’ voices on stage to share their journey and what’s working. 

“’The Roots of Organic: from Soil to Shelf’ summit is an important event that gives people the opportunity to hear directly from farmers and brands of agricultural products just how climate changes are impacting their operations. But the good news is they will also hear how farming organically has shown to help combat climate change and what steps farmers and brands are taking now to be more resilient,” says Tracy Favre, Senior Vice President of Sustainability and Organic Strategies at Handsome Brook Farms. 

“The audience will leave with an understanding that while the sense of urgency is real, we do have the tools and knowledge to make agriculture a force for good in the fight against climate change.”

That farm-level work is also part of a broader effort to build resilience across the organic food system, from individual farms to the supply chain.

“Organic Valley is proving that climate solutions start on organic farms. Together with Food Tank at Climate Week NYC, we’re bringing leaders together to highlight innovative working models, like carbon insetting, that demonstrate climate action on farms and within the supply chain,” says Jessica Luhning, Senior Sustainability Manager at Organic Valley. “As the nation’s largest organic farmer-owned cooperative, we’re proving organic agriculture is a powerful solution for a more resilient food system.”

Throughout the day, speakers will explore how the original principles of organic can continue to evolve alongside a changing climate—and how community plays a role.

“While organic food and agriculture has an institutionalized framework that’s been around for several decades, it also has a movement surrounding it that transcends this framework,” says Jane Kuhn, Senior Director of Strategic Sourcing & Sustainability at Once Upon a Farm. “This summit is an important opportunity to convene around both the movement and the framework, reflecting together to celebrate accomplished impact, while also surfacing gaps and possibilities to inform where it goes next.”

For many, looking ahead also means returning to those principles that have defined the movement from the beginning and considering how they can shape a more resilient food system.

“Organic farming has always been about looking at the whole system, from soil health to financial sustainability for farmers,” says Britt Lundgren, Senior Director of Sustainability and Government Affairs at Stonyfield. “At Stonyfield, we’ve always believed that organic farming can help us overcome the challenges of climate change—both by reducing agriculture’s contribution to GHG emissions and by storing more carbon in the soil. This event is an opportunity to bring that whole conversation together, from what happens in the soil to what ultimately reaches consumers, and to look at what organic has taught us about building a more resilient food system for the future.” 

Where the movement goes next—a central theme of the summit—will consider that balance between honoring organic’s roots and growing its reach.

“At Amy’s, we’ve spent nearly four decades proving that organic food can grow and reach millions of families without losing sight of the values it was built on,” says Paul Schiefer, CEO of Amy’s Kitchen. “But for organic to have the impact we know it can, the entire movement has to keep pushing forward. I hope this summit challenges all of us to think bigger about how we make organic more accessible and impactful, while protecting the standards and principles that have made it meaningful in the first place.”

The event will kick off at WNYC-NPR Studios’ The Greene Space in New York City at 9am with breakfast and live musical performances. An afternoon session will kick off with lunch at 1:30pm, and the evening programming will run from 6:30pm to 9:30pm, including networking opportunities. 

Speakers include Benjamin Bartley, Director of Responsible Procurement, UNFI; Alexis Bramley, Director of Strategic Projects, Organic Trade Association; Will Brinkerhoff, Soil Scientist, Chef, and Science Communicator; Marcia Brown, Food and Agriculture Reporter, POLITICO; Amy Bruch, Sixth-Generation Organic Farmer and President, Cyclone Farms; Taylor Clayton, Director of Global Impact and Responsible Sourcing, Adams Group; Beatriz Daim, Sustainability Specialist, Tradin Organic; Kathleen Davis, Producer, WNYC Studios’ Science Friday; Matthew Dillon, Co-CEO, Organic Trade Association; Abianne Falla, Founder, CatSpring Yaupon; Tracy Favre, Vice President of Sustainability, Live Operations, Handsome Brook Farms; Christopher Gergen, CEO, Regenerative Organic Alliance; David Gonthier, Associate Professor, Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky; Alison Grantham, President, Grow Well Consulting; Stephanie Grotta, Vice President of Responsible Sourcing & Sustainable Capabilities, Target; Chef Johanna Hellrigl, Chef-Owner, Ama Restaurant, Washington DC; Steven Jennings, Health Partnerships & Stakeholder Engagement Lead, Ahold Delhaize USA; Jane Kuhn, Senior Director of Strategic Sourcing & Sustainability, Once Upon a Farm; Annie Leeson, Co-Founder, AgriCarbon; Brandon Lombardi, Chief Legal Officer & Chief Sustainability Officer, Sprouts Farmers Market; Jessica Luhning, Senior Manager of Sustainability, Organic Valley; Britt Lundgren, Senior Director of Sustainability and Government Affairs, Stonyfield; Chef Joshua McFadden, James Beard Award-Winning Chef and Author; Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank; Kousha Navidar, Host, WNYC and Co-host, Climate One; Shawna Nelson, CEO, Organic Valley; Chef Priyanka Naik, Chef, Author, TV Personality & Food Network Champion; Leah Penniman, Farmer, Author, and Food Justice Activist, Soul Fire Farms; Sandy Pfaff, Vice President of Media Relations, Organic Trade Association; Gwyneth Rampton, Vice President of Sustainability, Compass Group USA; Maria Rodale, Board Co-Chair, Rodale Institute; Paul Schiefer, CEO, Amy’s Kitchen; Amber Sciligo, Senior Director, The Organic Center; Suzanne Sengelmann, Chief Executive Officer, Lundberg Family Farms; Erin Silva, Professor of Organic and Sustainable Cropping Systems, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Katrina Staves, Executive Director, Organic Voices; Sarela Herrada, Co-Founder, SIMPLi; Annie Watson, Organic Dairy Farmer, Sheepscot Valley Farm and Stonyfield Producer; Jake Wedeberg, Organic Dairy Farmer, Compost Expert, and Participant in Carbon Insetting; Stefanie Wilbur, Farmer and Owner, Lazy Dog Farm; Nijia Zhou, Climate, Nature, and Supply Chain Standards Lead, Amazon Worldwide Grocery; and Duron Chavis, Urban Farmer and Food Justice Advocate, Founder and Director, Happily Natural Day and Founder, Sankofa Community Orchard.

“The Roots of Organic: From Soil to Shelf” will feature a special musical performances by Celia Hottenstein, Glinda in Wicked on Broadway, who will be joined by Ryan Fielding Garrett, a New York City-based composer, music director, orchestrator, and musician whose Broadway credits include Kinky Boots, Wicked, Back to the Future, The Notebook, and Mean Girls; Travis Taber, Fiyero in Wicked on Broadway, who will also be joined by Garrett; Jayke Workman, Broadway actor, singer, and dancer currently starring as Mary Sunshine in Chicago on Broadway, who will be joined by Cullen Curth, New York City-based pianist, music director, and conductor who recently made his Broadway conducting debut with Just in Time; Singer-Songwriter Amber Rubarth; and Singer-Songwriter Taylor Hurd.

This summit will be streamed live on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel, here. Join the Food Tank newsletter list for reminders, and click here for Food Tank’s full lineup of events at Climate Week NYC 2026.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

The post Organic Agriculture Charts Its Future at Climate Week NYC appeared first on Food Tank.

On Monday evening, Sept. 21, Food Tank will host a food and agriculture film festival during Climate Week NYC 2026, in partnership with Kat Taylor, President of TomKat Foundation; Halter; The Henry Ford; The Rockefeller Foundation; and Groundswell.

The invitation-only festival will feature a screening of Food Tank’s first original documentary film, “Irish Farmers: A Love Story,” which follows three Irish farmers across three generations.

“Farmers are storytellers. There is a love story in every practice of agriculture, and as we face an increasingly mechanized world, stories coming from the heart is the path towards a more sustainable, prosperous, and empathetic future,” says Director Haven Worley.

“It is an honor to be part of a story bigger than ourselves and to come together in a festival that highlights farmers, advocates, artists, ranchers, and community members as the storytellers of a resilient climate future.” 

Through film and conversation with filmmakers, farmers, and food system leaders, the event will explore the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of agriculture while celebrating storytelling as a catalyst for education, connection, and action.

“We believe there is real opportunity for innovation in our food system, and we’re seeing it happen in communities across the country,” says Spence Medford, Senior Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer at The Henry Ford, a national cultural and educational institution that uses the stories of American innovation and ingenuity to inspire people to imagine a better future. 

The evening will kick off with a clip from “Farm to School Lunch Across America,” The Henry Ford’s film capturing a national school-supported agriculture initiative, which uses school food dollars to buy fresh, nutritious food from local and regional farmers and producers. “It means better food and better fuel for the next generation, while supporting farmers who are taking care of the land and creating a dependable market for what they grow,” says Medford. 

“Through our Farm to School Lunch Across America initiative and new documentary, we’re bringing people together and sharing the stories of the school meal leaders, farmers and chefs who are already showing us what’s possible.” 

This will be followed by a fireside chat with clips from “Language of the Land,” a film showing how Oklahoma ranchers Zach and Kacie Scherler-Abney embraced technology to achieve environmental and economic sustainability.

“For Zach and Kacie, what started as a personal health journey quickly became a soil health journey; a testament to their commitment to producing healthy and nutritious beef in harmony with the landscape they ranch on,” says Mikaele Ymker, Sustainability Lead at Halter. “Learning and mentorship are at the heart of Zach and Kacie’s ranching philosophy … We hope the audience will come away with an understanding of how ranchers are developing solutions that balance economics and ecology, without compromising their quality of life.”

Another discussion will feature clips from “Groundswell,” an award-winning environmental documentary following farmers, scientists, and Indigenous leaders who are rebuilding topsoil, restoring ecosystems, drawing down carbon, and fighting desertification across five continents.

“The films at this festival bring overdue visibility to the farmers and ranchers who feed us, regeneratively steward the soil, and are often the bedrock of local communities. We are bringing those stories to the fore and helping people see that agriculture writ large could be so much more than what currently ends up on grocery store shelves,” says Kat Taylor, President of TomKat Foundation.

“Regenerative agriculture, to us, is the largest delta solution to climate change, quelling up to 30-40% of global greenhouse gases, while re-sequestering 200 gigatons of carbon every decade in American acreage alone. I hope audiences leave as inspired as I have been by the glimpse these films give us into the way farmers and ranchers are already showing us what a new-old economy rooted in community, resilience, and care for the land and each other can look like.”

The evening’s final discussion will include clips from “Food 2050,” a documentary film narrated and executive produced by Academy Award winner Viola Davis that explores how to sustainably feed a projected global population of 10 billion people by the year 2050.

“The vast majority of films and books set in the future offer a dystopian nightmare – a world no one hopes becomes real. By giving such little creative effort to imagining the future we actually want, the hope we need to write a better tomorrow feels like it’s dwindling,” says Sara Farley, Regenerative School Meals Co-Lead and Vice President for the Food Team at The Rockefeller Foundation. 

“Food 2050 proves that when invited and empowered, communities are ready to put forward inspirational, transformational and totally feasible blueprints for the year 2050 that show we can live connected to food systems that are nourishing, regenerative and equitable.”

The event will begin at 6:30pm at WNYC-NPR Studios’ The Greene Space in New York City, with food, drinks, and live musical performances. A reception will follow, with programming concluding at 9:45pm.

Speakers include Xiye Bastida, Climate Justice Activist, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Re-Earth Initiative; Sweta Chakraborty, CEO of North America, We Don’t Have Time; Mary Culler, President, Ford Philanthropy; Sara Farley, Regenerative School Meals Co-Lead and Vice President for the Food Initiative, The Rockefeller Foundation; Spence Medford, Senior Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer, The Henry Ford; Helen Moore, VP of Commercial Strategy, Halter; Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank; Kacie Scherler-Abney, Fifth-Generation Rancher, Scherler-Abney Land & Cattle; Zach Scherler-Abney, Rancher, Scherler-Abney Land & Cattle; Jennifer Sherman, Program Director, Alice Waters Institute; Kat Taylor, Founder, TomKat Ranch and TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation; Rebecca Harrell Tickell, Director and Producer, Groundswell; and Haven Worley, Director, Irish Farmers: A Love Story.

The Food and Agriculture Film Festival will also feature a special musical performance by Brandon Burks, a Broadway actor, singer, and dancer currently in the new show Midnight. He will be joined by Elijah Caldwell, an OBIE Award-winning actor, singer, pianist, and music director whose credits include A Strange Loop Off-Broadway and the national tour of Shucked.

This summit will be streamed live on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel, here. Join the Food Tank newsletter list for reminders, and click here for Food Tank’s full lineup of events at Climate Week NYC 2026.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

The post Film Festival Highlights the Future of Agriculture appeared first on Food Tank.

You know those memories of childhood that catch you decades later when you are doing something entirely different, thinking about something entirely different? For me, one that frequently finds me is waking to the call of the vegetable pushcart walla while visiting my grandmother’s flat in Karachi.

Aloo-ooo, Py-azzzz, Tamatarrrr, Baiṅgan. Sabzi! Sabzi! Sabzi!

(Potato, onion, tomato, eggplant. Vegetables! Vegetables! Vegetables!)

Warm summer morning air filling the room, the fan turning overhead. Waking next to my sister, the two of us insisting on sleeping in my grandmother’s beautiful salwars that were probably not ready to be turned into pajamas. The sounds of traffic humming from the dusty streets below.

I could not see him, but he was ever present as his voice crisscrossed the neighborhood announcing fresh vegetables. And he always called out the price. His call made clear that price was part of the enticement. A good deal was passing by.

That unseen vegetable pushcart was a pocket of possibility.

Each day, Dadu, my grandmother, would sit with Sherbano, who worked in her home, and methodically go over what would be cooked. Dish by dish, they discussed who would be eating, what ingredients were still needed, the cost of the meal in relation to the week’s budget, and what else had been cooked that week. Sometimes Sherbano would double-check what remained from Juma Bazar (the Friday farmers market) or from the supermarket, where shelf-stable foreign goods like canned cheese were available.

Sherbano and my grandmother discussed what to look for when purchasing each vegetable: its appearance, size, texture, freshness, and aroma. Let’s not buy it if it’s not fragrant. The potatoes should be this size. Always the freshest. We’ll only know how many curry leaves and chilli peppers we need once the cooking starts. The aroma should pop.

Planning the day’s meals was a priority. Dadu and Sherbano held these discussions with seriousness, and occasionally argument, as each brought her own knowledge and skill to food procurement and meal preparation. These conversations brought out the most serious side of my grandmother. At most other times, there was always an excuse for a little fun, let’s paint the town red!

Sherbano returned with the day’s purchases to my grandmother’s tiny kitchen. There were a few pots. She sat on a low woven stool and cut vegetables on a cutting board on the ground. With her knowledge, skill, and labor, she transformed whole food ingredients into meals that brought joy. Meals that were festive and nourishing. Meals I long for.

That kitchen in my grandmother’s home was another pocket of possibility.

The vegetable pushcart walla was one of many who started around 3:00 a.m., purchasing vegetables from the Sabzi Mandi before dispersing across neighborhoods. Without a storefront, they helped keep fresh vegetables within reach. Across generations and geographies, mobile vendors have carried fruits, vegetables, grains, and more toward people in baskets, bundles, and pushcarts.

Most of us do not experience the food system in its entirety; we experience it through food environments. Food environments are the living confluences where climate, biodiversity, agriculture, markets, policy, culture, economics, nutrition, and health come together in our daily lives. Collectively, these relationships shape food availability, affordability, convenience, promotion, quality, and sustainability.

The Sabzi Mandi, Juma Bazar, supermarket, and vegetable pushcarts were all part of the built food environment my grandmother accessed. Built food environments extend from traditional markets and mobile vendors to supermarkets, restaurants, schools, hospitals, workplaces, and digital marketplaces. People also obtain food directly from wild and cultivated food environments, from forests, rivers, and coastlines to farms, fields, and home gardens.

I have delighted in co-creating frameworks, tools, metrics, and surveys to understand diverse food environments. What we define and characterize determines what we see and measure, and what we measure determines what we can manage. If we only measure food available in markets, we miss extraordinary pockets of food diversity in wild and cultivated food environments and the knowledge and relationships that make them accessible.

Food can be available but unaffordable. It can be affordable but poor quality, culturally irrelevant, or undesirable. Diverse foods can persist in a landscape while the knowledge to recognize, harvest, prepare, and value them disappears.

Food environments are dynamic. We are living through a profound global food-environment transition, with growing availability of ultra-processed and ready-to-eat foods and more food consumed away from home. These shifts bring convenience while distancing us from food knowledge and agency once practiced in our kitchens.

A pocket of possibility can shrink. It can also be expanded.

My grandmother’s kitchen reminds me that access to fresh and affordable ingredients was only part of what made those nourishing meals possible. Dadu had support. She and Sherbano brought knowledge, skill, labor, and time to making those meals, discerning quality, working within a budget, minimizing waste, and adjusting ingredients until the aroma popped. Nourishment requires an enabling environment inside the home, too. Today, many of our kitchens have vacancies in time, labor, knowledge, skills, and support.

But we are not going back to our grandmothers’ kitchens, nor the labor arrangements that helped make them possible. The opportunity is to carry the best of that knowledge and intention forward while finding new ways to fill some of the vacancies.

Policies can support mobile vendors in bringing fresh, affordable food closer to home. They can also help community gardens flourish, while hunting, fishing, and foraging can enhance food access. Food education can help navigate increasingly complex food and information landscapes. Where Dadu and Sherbano brought knowledge and collaboration to the meal, better food-quality data and emerging AI tools for meals can offer new forms of support. One possibility we are exploring is Swap It Smart, powered by data from The Periodic Table of Food Initiative (PTFI).

The meal itself becomes another pocket of possibility.

Meals can heal. Evidence is growing that interventions centered on meals can improve diet and health. Providing convenient access to minimally processed meals improved dietary quality and mental health symptoms in a randomized controlled trial. Medically Tailored Meals can improve health outcomes and reduce hospitalizations and healthcare costs. Culinary medicine and cooking interventions can build knowledge and skills to prepare healthier foods. Universal school meals can improve children’s health at population scale, while school meals from regenerative agriculture extend those benefits to planetary health.

Across interventions and scales, the same fundamental possibility emerges: creating the enabling conditions and support for good food to become a nourishing meal.

As leaders and advocates gather in New York around the U.N. General Assembly and Climate Week, conversations about climate and health unfold at planetary scale. We do not have to invent every solution anew. Food environments are powerful levers because so much of the food system converges there. Some of these solutions have been moving through our streets for generations. Others are growing in home gardens. Some emerge from tiny kitchens, where what is available meets knowledge, skill, care, and imagination.

Bring good food within reach.

As we pursue planetary-scale solutions, some of the largest pockets of possibility may already be within reach.

From the dusty streets rises the familiar call.

Sabzi! Sabzi! Sabzi! (Vegetables! Vegetables! Vegetables!)

This essay is part of Food Tank’s Flourish Series: Food and Health from Molecules to Systems, authored by Selena Ahmed, exploring how food connects us to the living world while asking what it means to flourish. For more in the series, click here.

The post Op-Ed | Pockets of Possibility: From Food Environments to Nourishing Meals appeared first on Food Tank.

On Monday morning, Sept. 21, Food Tank will host “Solving Food Waste is a Key Solution to the Climate Crisis” at Climate Week NYC 2026, in partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Food Planet Prize, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Restaurant Technologies, CookUnity, and Mill. 

Food waste is one of the world’s most overlooked climate challenges, and one of its greatest opportunities. The summit will explore how reducing food loss and waste can cut greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen food security, and build more resilient food systems at the city, state, and global levels. 

“Reducing food loss and waste is a powerful example of how a simple action can deliver multiple benefits: feeding more people, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, protecting nature and strengthening economies,” says Martin Krause, Director of the Climate Change Division at UNEP. “By changing how we value, consume, and manage food, we can drive a future where every resource matters, every meal is valued, and no food goes to waste.”

Tackling food waste, speakers say, will require action at multiple levels, from individual eaters’ choices to broader policy changes.

“The world needs an array of interventions from different parts of the food system, and food waste is an important piece of the puzzle,” says Emily Norford, Nominations Manager at Food Planet Prize. “We hope the event will yield a renewed motivation to take action, whether it’s changing individual behavior, supporting policy solutions, or joining forces with others.”

Across the United States, advocacy and research organizations are already working to put those solutions into practice: “This event will highlight a range of impactful food waste solutions already taking place across the country and inspire us in our push towards the goal of reducing food waste by 50 percent by 2030,” says Rebecca Riley, Managing Director of Food & Agriculture at NRDC.

Some of those efforts are focused on one of the most consequential destinations for discarded food: landfills.

“Keeping food waste out of landfills is one of the most immediate opportunities we have to make our food system more sustainable,” says Diana Geseking, Chief Legal Officer at Restaurant Technologies. “We help commercial kitchens reduce their waste and turn what remains into something valuable. We are excited to bring that perspective to this conversation and learn from others working across the food system.”

But speakers say reducing food waste is about more than what happens after food is discarded; it can also mean getting surplus food to people who need it.

“Food Tank’s event at Climate Week perfectly illustrates how deeply food is connected to many of the challenges the climate crisis has forced us to confront,” says María Bengochea, Director of Sustainability, Nutrition, and Standards at CookUnity. “For our team at CookUnity, contributing to the fight against food insecurity—by rescuing surplus food, working with our donation partners to support local communities, and preventing good food from becoming waste—is central to both our day-to-day operations and our mission to empower chefs to feed and nourish more people.”

Discussions on chef partnerships to reduce food waste, city and state food waste action, advancing a national policy agenda on food waste, and food waste action in food service and retail will explore how food waste is a problem that can be addressed at a global scale.

“For decades, we have treated food waste like it was inevitable, but it’s actually one of the most solvable climate problems that exist today,” says Matt Rogers, CEO of Mill. “If people walk away from this summit understanding that we can move the needle on this massive-scale, high-impact problem, that’s a win for the economy and for the planet.”

The event will be at WNYC-NPR Studios’ The Greene Space in New York City at 9am with breakfast and live musical performances, followed by a reception until 12pm.

Speakers include María Bengochea, Director of Sustainability & Standards, CookUnity; Veleké Brown, CEO, E-RoadMap and Velloris, and Executive Director, E-RoadMap Corporation; U.S. Representative Nikki Budzinski; U.S. Representative Maxine Dexter; Adalberto Maluf Filho, National Secretary for Urban Environment, Water Resources and Environmental Quality, Brazil’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change; Julie Gehrki, President, Walmart Foundation and Senior Vice President, Philanthropy, Walmart Inc.; Diana Geseking, Chief Legal Officer, Restaurant Technologies; Robert Jones, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, Industry Leadership, and Impact, The Culinary Institute of America; Matthew Jozwiak, Founder and CEO, Rethink Food; Madeline Keating, Senior Advocate, Nature, NRDC; Martin Krause, Director, Climate Change Division, UN Environment Programme (UNEP); Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank; Emily Norford, Nominations Manager, Food Planet Prize; Emily Peck, plant-based chef and holistic nutritionist; Lou Pieh, Head of Federal Affairs, Mill; Gwyneth Rampton, Vice President of Sustainability, Compass Group USA; U.S. Representative Andrea Salinas (D-OR); Tia Schwab, Senior Manager, U.S. Food Systems, C40 Cities; Jackie Suggitt, Senior Director of Waste & Circularity, Walmart; Sydney Thayer, Pollution Prevention Specialist, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality; and Jacob Wallace, Senior Reporter, Waste Dive.

“Solving Food Waste is a Key Solution to the Climate Crisis” will feature a special musical performance by Nathan Lucrezio, a Broadway actor, singer, dancer, and recording artist whose credits include Schmigadoon!, Pirates! The Penzance Musical, The Who’s Tommy, Diana, Aladdin, and Cinderella. He will be joined by Cullen Curth, New York City-based pianist, music director, and conductor who recently made his Broadway conducting debut with Just in Time.

This summit will be streamed live on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel, here. Join the Food Tank newsletter list for reminders, and click here for Food Tank’s full lineup of events at Climate Week NYC 2026.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

The post Turning Food Waste Into Climate Action appeared first on Food Tank.