Bringing Food To the Forefront of Big Conversations at SXSW

Danielle Nierenberg

Danielle Nierenberg 

For decades—certainly for most of my career—discussions about food and agriculture systems have been pushed to the sidelines. Many of us have had to fight, over and over and over again, to get folks in power to take food and agriculture seriously.

But that’s changing now. Political leaders are recognizing that food is central to climate solutions. Cultural leaders are using food as a bridge to vital discussions of access and justice. Business leaders are seeing ways that sustainable food systems make simple economic sense. 

This is why I’m so excited to be returning to SXSW in just one week for our annual “All Things Food” Summit. As a good food movement, we need to continue to meet conversations where they’re happening and remind people that, when we talk about culture and media, we’re talking about food. When we talk about health and well-being, we’re talking about food. When we talk about bipartisan policymaking and national security, we’re talking about food. When we talk about society, we’re talking about food. 

During our two-day event—which is official SXSW programming—we’ll feature fireside chats, expert panels, interactive chef-curated tastings, music performances, and film screenings, hosted at the gorgeous Barr Mansion in Austin, Texas. 

The event, on March 13 and 14, is completely free to attend, and no SXSW festival badge is required. And if you can’t make it to SXSW, you can join us virtually as well!

Register for both virtual or in-person participation by CLICKING HERE.

At SXSW, Food Tank and our amazing partners are bringing together nearly 100 top experts, farmers, chefs, private sector leaders, activists, industry pioneers, policymakers, and creative folks to explore pressing issues in food and agriculture. We’ll discuss everything from food waste solutions to regenerative agriculture; nutrition security to sustainability in food systems; food as medicine to the future of food innovation.

Here’s the lineup of the inspiring speakers who will be joining us: Sam Acho, ESPN Sports Analyst and NFL Veteran; Selena Ahmed, Periodic Table of Food Initiative (PTFI), American Heart Association; Karin Ascot, Holocia; Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, Feeding America; Peter Barrett, Writer; Cecile Beliot, Bel Group; Gary Blackwood, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (ret.); Jayson Berryhill, Wholechain; Jay Bhatt, The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions; Joseph Brinkley, Bonterra Organic Estates; Pat Brown, Impossible Foods; Sweta Chakraborty, We Don't Have Time; Joi Chevalier, Austin Travis County Food Policy Board, The Cook’s Nook; Chaz Daughtry, Sweetwater Farms, Soulfitgrill Seasonings; Maj. Emily Diemer, US Army Medical Center of Excellence; Sara Faivre, Farmer Mac; Rachel Ferencik, CDC Foundation; Larry Franklin, Black Lives Veggies; Brendan Gemmel, Austin Animal Center; Ivan Giraud, Bel Brands; Emmanuel (Emmy) Gonzalez, Vallarta Supermarkets; Nira Goren, Google; Jessica Gudmundson, National Farm to School Network; Dana Gunders, ReFed; Patrick Van Haren, Microbial Earth Farms, Holocia; Chef Olivia Hernandez, HER Hospitality; Mark Hyman, Function Health; Chef Jay Huang, Lucky Robot and Nomade; Michelle Hughes, National Young Farmers Coalition; Antony Jackson, We Can Now; Jyoti Jankowski, Conscious Planet; Jenna Jasso, Festival Beach Food Forest; Steven Jennings, Ahold Delhaize USA; Stefanie Katzman, Katzman; Annalyn Lavey, Genus Land; June Jo Lee, food ethnographer; Caitlin Leibert, Whole Foods Market; Brandon Lombardi, Sprouts Farmers Market; Chef Adrian Lipscombe, 40 Acres Project; Brita Lundberg, Lundberg Family Farms; Gerardo Martinez, Wild Kid Acres, Global Alliance of Latinos in Agriculture; Amanda Masino, Huston-Tillotson University; Jay McEntire, Arva; John "Wesley" McWhorter, The University of Texas School of Public Health; Dariush Mozaffarian, Food is Medicine Institute; Joe O'Connor, Applegate; Linda Novick O’Keefe, Common Threads; Giovanni Quaratesi, Certified Origin; Raj Patel, academic, journalist, activist; U.S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (ME-1); Karuna Rawal, Nature's Fynd; Garland S. Reiter Jr., Driscoll’s of the Americas; Stephen Ritz, Green Bronx Machine; PJ Rivera, Deloitte; Ashley Rouse, The Edible Schoolyard Project; Samantha Sackin, Organic Valley; Kelsey Scott, Intertribal Agriculture Council,; Naba Sengupta, Deloitte; Sabrina Servais, Organic Valley; U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions (TX-17); Cathy Strange, Whole Foods Market; Roy Steiner, Rockefeller Foundation; Rick Simington, Organic Valley; Josh Tickell, Common Ground Film; Josh Tranel, Tranel Family Farm; Jeff Travillion, Travis County Commissioner; Alyssa Vescio, Whole Foods Market; Melva K. Wallace, Huston-Tillotson University; Karen Washington, Rise & Root Farm; Lyndsey Waugh, Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation; Chef Iliana De La Vega, El Naranjo; Dusan Vujovic, Tony’s Chocolonely; Chef Dave White, Bravo’s Below Deck, “Chopped”; Paul Willis, Niman Ranch; Luke Zahm, Driftless Cafe; and more.

Again, HERE is the link to sign up for in-person or virtual tickets. And if you’re a Food Tank member, you’ll have access to an exclusive members-only space at the event with additional celebrity chef-curated dishes! (If you’re not a Food Tank member, be sure to join now!)

Questions? Email Kenzie at Kenzie@FoodTank.com. And media pass and VIP ticket requests can be sent to Annie at Annie@FoodTank.com.

I want to give a huge shoutout to our event partners Huston-Tillotson University, Deloitte, Organic Valley, and Driscoll’s, with special thanks also to Arva, the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, and Tangled Bank.

And thanks to the following brands for making this Summit so inspiring—and delicious: Ahold Delaize USA, Applegate, Arva, Atlantic Sea Farms, Aquanaria, Bel, Best Day Brewery, Better Sour, Blk & Bold, Bonterra Organic Estates, Brass Roots, Burlap & Barrel, ButcherBox, Certified Origins, Daily Crunch Snacks, Daily Harvest, Deloitte, Dr. Bronner's, Driscoll's, Fairhaven Orchards, Farmer's Fridge, Floofy’s Fluff, Grace Family Farms Tea Lounge, Guayakí, Hasta la Luna, La Belle Patrimone, La Colombe, Little Sesame, Maker’s Mark, Meati, The Mendrin Group, MyMochi, Nature's Fynd, Nature's Path, Niman Ranch, Oddbird, Organic Valley, Parlor Coffee, Quinn, Riverence, Saffron Road, Seremoni, SHAKE SHACK, SIMPLi, Spirit Almonds, Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, Strong Roots, Swig Cheese Haus, Tangled Bank, Tindle, Tony's Chocolonely, Traditional Medicinals, Vista Brewing, and Yolele.

Whether it’s the United Nations Climate Change Conference, Sundance, Capitol Hill, or SXSW, we have to keep pushing food to the forefront wherever big conversations are taking place. I’m so excited to be able to bring these conversations back to SXSW this year—and to expand our footprint at the event to this amazing two-day Summit. 

And please do let anyone you know, either in Austin or visiting for SXSW, that they’re more than welcome to join us free. I hope to see you next week!

(Danielle Nierenberg is the President of Food Tank and can be reached at danielle@foodtank.com)