“It is possible to produce food in a way that’s good for our bodies, that doesn’t destroy the planet, that doesn’t contribute to the climate crisis,” Lappé tells Food Tank. “Those are possible pathways that we’re able to scale if we invest in them and support their growth around the world.” 

The Global Alliance has worked to unite foundations to leverage resources and networks in a way that promotes more regenerative and equitable food and agriculture systems. 

According to the organization, just 3 percent of climate finance goes toward food systems even though the sector contributes to roughly one third of greenhouse gas emissions globally. 

“There’s a huge funding gap,” Lappé says. She believes that a lack of understanding of the “systemic nature of food and hunger issues” is partly to blame. 

“There’s a significant amount of philanthropic dollars going to what I would just call charity…going to put a bandaid on the problem,” Lappé continues. And while she acknowledges that there is a need to address acute hunger, it is critical to ensure that funders are also investing in the root causes of these issues.

“If we really want to get to the roots of hunger, we need to look at who has power, who’s making decisions about how we grow our food, where we grow our food, what kind of food we’re growing, what we’re all eating, what we’re being taught is healthy,” Lappé tells Food Tank.

When the Global Alliance first formed in 2012, “we started with just a handful of foundations that were working, totally separate from each other but funding some aspect of food systems change,” Lappé says. “Some weren’t even using the term food systems.” But these organizations came together, she explains, because they realized that they could be more effective if they worked collaboratively.

Since then, the alliance of foundations has not only continued to grow; members are also increasingly taking a systemic approach to food systems. Philanthropic organizations recognize the connection between food, farming, climate, and biodiversity, Lappé says, and they are bringing this approach to leaders at events such as the U.N. Climate Change Conference. 

“We are talking about food and climate at the highest level, and I would say that is not only true in philanthropy but true in civil society as well. And that is a really exciting change.”

Listen to the full conversation with Anna Lappé on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” to hear about the link between the food system and fossil fuel industry, the principles that guide the Global Alliance’s work, and the success stories that the organization is lifting up and amplifying. 

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The post Closing the Gap: Putting Philanthropic Dollars Behind Food Systems Transformation appeared first on Food Tank.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon was among a handful of companies working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on a pilot program that allowed shoppers to use their SNAP benefits online. The new platform allowed eaters to purchase groceries from participating retailers and have them shipped directly to their front doors.

But by March of 2020, when governments were advising that everyone stay home, the program was still only available in select states. “We understood that this very vital subsidy for food was not available beyond brick and mortar,” Nancy Dalton, the Head of Community Experience and Customer Marketing for Amazon Access, tells Food Tank. 

The pandemic fueled the expansion of the program as the need “to get as many states online as possible,” became more apparent, Dalton says. Today, consumers can use Online SNAP in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. 

At Amazon, Online SNAP falls under Amazon Access, a suite of programs and services that Dalton and her colleagues design and implement to expand access to food and other basic necessities. 

For Dalton, whose family relied on SNAP benefits for a time, this work is personal. “I had to go to the corner store with the brown and purple money to get food for our household,” she tells Food Tank. “And I saw my mother hold her head down and feel ashamed about that. And even me, as a kid, I was like ‘Oh, I hate this money because it makes us look different.’”

Dalton believes that Online SNAP is a powerful advancement that allows eaters, regardless of their income, to shop without feeling how she once did. This program “allows people who receive [SNAP] the dignity to order within their home where no one knows what type of payment you’re using,” she tells Food Tank.

That’s why the Amazon Access team is also working to spread awareness of this option to communities. “A lot of what we do both online, but mostly at the grassroots level, is to spend time actually walking people through the process…step by step,” Dalton says. From there, “we watch it in action. And then we continuously build on our instruction mechanisms and our communication mechanisms to make sure that they’re covering all of the needs of those who might be digitally adept and those who might actually need a little bit more help.”

Listen to the full conversation with Nancy Dalton on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” to hear about overcoming the initial skepticism many eaters expressed around online grocery shopping,  how Amazon Access is partnering with community-based organizations to increase their impact, and Dalton’s focus on Food is Medicine programs to help more households access nutritious foods that meet their needs. 

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The post Overcoming Barriers to Food Access Through Digital Grocery Solutions appeared first on Food Tank.

“Every problem has a solution,” says Josh Tickell, one of the filmmakers behind “Common Ground,” a new documentary that profiles farmers across the United States using regenerative agriculture practices to heal the Earth. “And so if a film isn’t conveying a solution, we’re in the old paradigm of environmental documentary storytelling.”

“Wild Hope,” for example, is a multi-episode series that follows changemakers around the world working to reverse biodiversity loss. “Abundance,” tells the story of the college students who mobilized at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to connect farms with surplus produce to food banks. And “Gather” portrays the growing movement of Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food.

For many of the filmmakers behind these documentaries, their goal is to energize and inspire viewers to take action. 

“The series was never supposed to be a series,” says Jared Lipworth, Executive Producer of “Wild Hope” and Head of HHMI Tangled Bank Studios. “It was an anchor for a movement. And the movement was to get people to get activated.” On the series’ website, audiences can find action items tied to the theme of each episode. 

And the team behind “Common Ground” is using momentum around the film to help build support for regenerative agriculture. They are currently offering resources to help consumers eat more sustainably and are pushing forward a movement to regenerate 100 million acres of land in the U.S.

Some speakers, including Sanjay Rawal, the filmmaker behind “Gather” are also excited for the documentaries that have yet to be made. “We need to find ways to get cameras into kids’ hands…and tell them that what they’re doing is going to be critical for their movement.”

Listen to a special series of conversations from the Summit, available on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg,” to hear more about the films that are highlighting food systems solutions, how chefs are taking on leadership roles in their communities, and the process of turning hours of footage into a full-length documentary. 

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The post Solutions on Screen: The Power of Documentaries to Spur Food Systems Change appeared first on Food Tank.

VACS focuses on what Fowler calls “opportunity crops,” or crops that offer many benefits yet have “suffered from years and years of massive underinvestment.” These crops, which include cowpea, pigeon pea, mung bean, and lablab, provide protein and micronutrients while enriching the soil. “They have so much potential,” Fowler tells Food Tank.

Fowler explains that the VACS team identified approximately 60 traditional, indigenous, and underutilized crops that offered some of the greatest nutritional benefits. From there, they narrowed the list down further, working with experts to conduct modeling and determine the crops that can best withstand the changing climate. 

According to Fowler, the process has been driven by African stakeholders. “The leadership for this…has to come with local people. It has to come with African institutions and with African scientists and African farmers.” Some of their partners include the African Orphan Crops Consortium and the African Plant Breeders Association.

Fowler adds that the team is mindful that VACS is building on work that has been in progress by local leaders for many years. “This is not something that we created out of thin air.”

At its core, Fowler believes that VACS is really about going “back to the basics…We’ve got to get the fundamentals right,” he tells Food Tank. “And the fundamentals are always going to be soils and crops.”

With this work, Fowler emphasizes that they are not trying to create a project with a start and end date. Rather, they are hoping to “kick start a movement, a different way of thinking about this issue.” 

Listen to the full conversation with Dr. Cary Fowler on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” to hear more about the relationships that VACS is developing with African farmers, the private sector and civil society partners that VACS is working with, and why it’s important for development agencies and non-governmental organizations to integrate more opportunity crops into their programs.

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The post VACS Is Going Back to Basics for a Climate Resilient Future appeared first on Food Tank.

For more than three decades, the federal minimum wage has remained stagnant at US$2.13 per hour for tipped workers. But One Fair Wage, representing nearly 300,000 restaurant and service workers, 2,500 restaurant owners, and dozens of organizations, is working to change this. 

Recently, the organization has seen “a historic moment of worker power,” One Fair Wage’s President Saru Jayaraman tells Food Tank. 

One Fair Wage’s 25 by 250 Campaign kicked off in Washington D.C., where “we won a huge increase for tipped workers from US$5.00 to US$16.10 for a huge number of tipped workers in our nation’s capital,” Jayaraman says.

And in Chicago, Illinois the organization recently celebrated another victory when the city council voted to end subminimum wages, which will be phased out over the next five years.

“We’re finally winning,” Jayaraman tells Food Tank. 

The win in Chicago was particularly notable for Jayaraman, due in part to the presence of the Illinois Restaurant Association (IRA) at the negotiating table. Businesses, she says, are taking action before policies change, recognizing the need to offer workers a livable wage. And in Chicago, the IRA found that roughly a third of their members were already offering employees better pay. 

One Fair Wage is now looking ahead to future wins. Wage increases are on the ballot in Michigan, Ohio, and Arizona, Jayaraman says. “And what’s so exciting is that all of this policy victory is really the result of workers saying: Enough is enough, we won’t do it anymore. Employers have to raise wages to recruit staff.”

And Jayaraman believes there is no realistic alternative. At the same time that workers are advocating for fair pay, the National Restaurant Association is advocating for legislation that will weaken child labor laws—changes that would allow children as young as 13 to serve alcohol in bars. 

“Either we work with our independent restaurants and support them to figure out how to raise the wage so adults can work sustainably in these jobs, or we have children working in bars. Is this real?” Jayaraman asks. “There’s really only one future for this industry, and it has to be providing life-sustaining wages.”

Listen to the full conversation with Saru Jayaraman on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” to hear more about One Fair Wage’s 25 by 250 Campaign, how the COVID-19 pandemic helped fuel the movement for workers’ rights in the service industry, and how eaters everywhere can support the organization’s fight for fair wages.

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The post ‘We’re Finally Winning:’ One Fair Wage’s Fight to End Subminimum Wages Is Gaining Momentum appeared first on Food Tank.

The conversation covers recent wins for food workers; how the achievements seen at this year’s U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP28) sets the stage for advocates working on food systems change at COP29 and COP30; the foods and flavors Gen Z are looking for; and opportunities to expand access to healthy foods.

The episode also features predictions from experts from across food and agriculture systems, who share what they expect—and hope—to see in 2024. Callers include Reverend Eugene Cho, President and CEO of Bread for the World; Tambra Raye Stevenson, Founder of WANDA; Seth Goldman, Co-Founder and Chief Change Agent of Eat the Change; Rupa Bhattacharya, Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives and Industry Leadership at the Culinary Institute of America; and Erika Allen, CEO of Urban Growers Collective.

Listen to the full episode HERE.

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The post A New Year and New Opportunities: What’s Next for the Food Movement appeared first on Food Tank.

The Southern Exposure Seed Exchange is a cooperatively managed seed company that encourages self-reliance in agriculture. They place emphasis on open open-pollinated seed varieties—those that have been bred naturally through insects, bats, or wind—to encourage seed saving and exchange among gardeners and farmers, as well as heirloom varieties—those developed before 1940—to encourage seed saving and exchange among gardeners.

“Since people have been keeping records of it, farmers were at the center of selecting varieties that did well in their gardens or on their farms and carrying those forward,” Wallace tells Food Tank. “But about 100 years ago, that began to change as companies started to produce more seeds.” 

Today, the ETC Group estimates that four firms control more than half of global seed sales. And as corporate consolidation continued, Wallace says, companies shifted their focus from regional adaptability to profit. And she believes that this change has come at the detriment of resilience. 

“When new situations come along, you don’t know what you need, right? Having a diversity of genetic materials available in the seed system is important,” Wallace tells Food Tank. 

Seeds also hold immense cultural significance, representing another argument in favor of their preservation. Behind seeds, Wallace says, are stories and a way to remember the past. 

The Heirloom Collard Project, of which Wallace is part, focuses specifically on preserving the seeds, culinary traditions, and history behind collard greens. 

“Collards are pretty much the only Brassica oleracea that was selected in the southeastern part of the United States, largely and initially by enslaved people and continued by poor people, Black and white, throughout the South,” Wallace tells Food Tank. “And it is one of the things that is like a sign of home.”

By bringing together seed savers, researchers, farmers, and chefs, the Project celebrates the diversity of collard varieties.

“Seeds are living things,” says Wallace. “You can’t just put them away.”

Listen to the full conversation with Ira Wallace on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” to hear about how Ujamaa Seeds is producing culturally meaningful seeds, the sense of place and belonging that crops can provide, and the next generation of seed savers inspiring Wallace.

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Muloma Heritage Center is a project co-founded by a group of chefs, agriculture experts, and artists including Adrian Lipscombe, Michael Twitty, and Tonya and David Thomas. They acquired 38 acres of land for the Center’s work, where they plan to celebrate and teach visitors about the foodways of the African Diaspora.

Lipscombe, who is also the Founder of the 40 Acres Project tells Food Tank that in 2020, following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer, “you could feel the thickness of my community, the frustration, the anger.” 

At the time, Lipscombe was running her restaurant Uptowne Cafe in Wisconsin, and she began to receive money from people looking for ways to support. Unsure of what to do with the funds, she thought about the producers in her network who were struggling due to restaurant closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This led her “down a rabbit hole,” she says, as she began to consider the struggles of Black farmers who own just 1 percent of agricultural land in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “I put a GoFundMe together to purchase Black land which I thought would be sacred enough to hold information about Black agriculture,” Lipscombe tells Food Tank. This was the start of the 40 Acres Project. 

During these months, Lipscombe also began speaking with other Black chefs, including many who had just returned home from visits to Africa. On their trips, these chefs “were solidly in states and countries that were Black, and they had land access and land ownership, and we’re thinking: How can we do this here in the United States?” she tells Food Tank. 

Through conversations, Lipscombe and her fellow founding members of Muloma Heritage Center, identified a plot of 38 acres of land on St. Helena Island to serve as a home for the institution. “And we have been working very diligently…[to figure out] what we should do with this property, especially to honor our Black foodways and also Black agriculture.” 

The Center’s name comes from a Mende word that means “we are together,” a reference to the importance of relationships. “No matter who we are, how do we come together?” Lipscombe asks. “And that brings me right back to the circle of food. We are looking beyond just the chefs, the food to the plate. [We are looking at] the history of how we make this food, the resources, the study of it…And for me, with this land, we are hoping to be able to tell that story and to create a place for people to come in and to see that story.”

Listen to the full conversation with Adrian Lipscombe of “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” to hear about a new announcement that will support the growth of Muloma Heritage Center, the importance of archival work to preserve Black foodways, and the responsibility of chefs to contribute to more sustainable food and agriculture systems.

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The post Muloma Heritage Center: Bridging the Past, Present, and Future of African Atlantic Foodways appeared first on Food Tank.

“One third of the global population faces water stress,” says Tom Pesek, Senior Liaison Officer at the FAO. The FAO also reports that access to freshwater resources per person has declined by 20 percent in the last decade.

“If we don’t change our current practices,” Pesek continues, “those figures are going to increase exponentially.” The speakers say that this has concerning implications for human health and food security.

Agriculture, which relies on freshwater, is responsible for more than 70 percent of global withdrawals. 

And Dana James, a Postdoctoral Fellow at UBC notes that “without clean drinking water, it’s pretty impossible to be food secure.” In British Columbia alone, she says, there are around 30 boil-water advisories, or no-drinking orders, for rural and remote communities.

Fortunately, the speakers say, there are many community leaders who are already pushing for better food and water systems, but they need support. 

“Something I see time and time again is the lack of representation in leadership and the lack of funding to support the infrastructure and projects community members are leading to increase food security,” says Lizeth Ardila Ramírez, a Master’s student in the Faculty Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems at UBC. 

The speakers argue that these groups, who know their communities so intimately, need support and investment so that they can carry out their work effectively.

Collaboration is also critical, says Tiare Boyes, a commercial fish harvester. “It’s really important that we reach out across sectors and that we work together because the problems that we’re facing right now are not simple and the solutions are not simple,” she states. 

And if these pathways allow for the creation of more sustainable food and agriculture systems, a brighter future is possible. “To have sustainable food and sustainable water means having a sustainable world for all of us to coexist with each other,” says Lisa Kenoras, Communications Coordinator for the Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty.

Listen to two conversations from the World Food Day Summit—a fireside chat with Tom Pesek and a panel of youth leaders—on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” to hear more about the solutions our food system hold to the climate crisis, the inseparable link between food and water security, and the steps the next generation of leaders are taking to center the voices of communities. And watch the replay of the full event by clicking HERE.

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The post Bridging Gaps for a Sustainable World: The Role of Water in Food Systems appeared first on Food Tank.

The organization approaches their mission through different hubs designed to support entrepreneurs and community builders. IndigeHub’s CoWork Hub, for example, offers a workspace with highspeed internet, office equipment, desk space, and more, while also creating networking opportunities. And their Food Hubs—intended to serve as a central location for food production, storage, and distribution—aim to increase access to local and Indigenous foods while supporting local economies and improving environmental sustainability. 

Adams, who serves as the Director of IndigeHub, explains that the idea for the organization came to her while running a successful restaurant that she opened in Provo, Utah. While she was committed to operating a sustainable business model, Adams realized that less than 5 percent of her customer base were Indigenous. Her own community, she says, lacked access to the foods she was preparing and serving every day.

“You don’t succeed without your community and that weighed very heavy on us,” Adams tells Food Tank.

Hoping to address this need, Adams launched a grassroots mutual aid effort, that would become IndigeHub. One of the first programs she offered was a chef bootcamp, modeled off of Chef Bootcamp for Policy and Change run by the James Beard Foundation. Adams and her brother implemented the program in the Navajo community, offering three days of training to people of all ages to equip them with culinary skills. 

At the bootcamp’s end, participants created a three course meal for 30 diners, which was “incredible to watch,” Adams says. “There’s so much talent locked in poverty,” she tells Food Tank. “If only we could provide the opportunity and the access for Indigenous people—and I’m speaking about rural Indigenous communities on reservations. If we could provide the opportunity, the access, what talent can we uncover?”

Today, IndigeHub tries to focus on farmers and producers. Recently, they worked with a Navajo farmer to build a bioreactor to generate biologically complete compost that will help heal the soil and improve yields. 

“We need to support our small farmers and growers that are reintroducing Indigenous crops into their environment to strengthen the soil, to the clean the water, to clean the air,” Adams tells Food Tank. “It’s a way we can immediately address a lot of the…climate issues, food scarcity issues.”

“We thrive when we’re in balance, the Earth thrives when she’s in balance. And that’s what we need to strive for.”

Listen to the full conversation with Bleu Adams on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg,” to hear more about IndigeHub, the impact of colonialism on Indigenous communities in the United States, and Adams’ work to celebrate the vibrancy of Indigenous foodways.

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