Food Tank, Huston-Tillotson University, and Driscoll’s present “All Things Food” at SXSW 2025 with the support of Day 2 Sponsor Organic Valley along with partners Arva, the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, and Tangled Bank Studios/HHMI.
Day 2. Friday, March 14, 2025
in partnership with Organic Valley.
10:30AM – 10:35AM. Welcome Remarks.
Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank
10:35AM-10:45AM. Framing Fireside Chat
Rick Simington, CCO, Organic Valley
10:45AM-11:10AM. Panel Discussion: Future of Food: Next Gen Food, Anti Ultra-Processed, and the New Food System.
in partnership with Organic Valley
Sabrina Servais, Young Farmer, Organic Valley
June Jo Lee, Food Ethnographer
Cathy Strange, Ambassador of Food Culture, Whole Foods Market; Renowned Cheese Expert
Peter Barrett, Writer, Things on Bread
11:10AM-11:30AM. Fireside Chat with Paul Willis
Paul Willis, Founding Hog Farmer, Niman Ranch
11:30AM-11:55AM. Panel Discussion: Food with Purpose: Why Choosing Good Food Matters.
Luke Zahm, Owner and Chef, Driftless Cafe and Television Host, Wisconsin Foodie
Alyssa Vescio, Senior Vice President of Merchandising, Whole Foods Market
John “Wesley” McWhorter, VP, Lifestyle Medicine at Suvida Healthcare
Josh Tickell, Filmmaker and Storyteller, Common Ground Film
11:55AM-12:15PM. Fireside Chat with Karen Washington
Karen Washington, Food Justice Advocate, Urban Farmer, and Author, Rise & Root Farm
12:20AM-12:30PM. Closing Reflections
Rick Simington, CCO, Organic Valley
“Farmer Profitability Depends on Soil Health”
in partnership with Arva
12:30PM-12:55PM. Panel Discussion: Digging Deeper: The Importance of Soil.
Annalyn Lavey, Founder & Managing Partner, Genus Land
Jay McEntire, CEO and Co-Founder, Arva
Jyoti Jankowski, Strategy & Operations Lead, North America, Conscious Planet
12:55PM-1:20PM. Panel Discussion: Regenerating Farms, Revitalizing Communities: The Complexities of Change
Josh Tranel, Farmer-Owner, Tranel Family Farm
Kelsey Scott, Intertribal Agriculture Council, rancher, food systems advocate
Michelle Hughes, Co-Executive Director, National Young Farmers Coalition
Chaz Daughtry, Founder, Sweetwater Farms HTX and Soulfitgrill
1:20PM-1:40PM. Fireside Chat with U.S. Congressperson Pete Sessions (Republican, TX-17) (25 min)
U.S. Congressperson Pete Sessions (Republican, TX-17)
U.S. Congressperson Chellie Pingree (Democrat, Maine).
1:40PM-1:55PM. Closing Reflections (10 min)
Jay McEntire, CEO and Co-Founder, Arva
2:30PM-2:50PM. Fireside Chat with Sam Acho. (25 min)
Sam Acho, Founder & President, Athletes for Justice; Director of Human Capital, AWM Capital; Author, Humanitarian and 9 year NFL Veteran
2:50PM-3:20PM. Panel Discussion: Food is Medicine and Eating for Health Part 2.
Nira Goren, Head of Health Information Quality and Food is Medicine, Google
Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO, Feeding America
Dariush Mozaffarian, Director, Food is Medicine Institute
Brandon Lombardi, Chief Sustainability Officer, Sprouts Farmers Market
3:20PM-3:45PM. Panel Discussion: Healthy Food For All: Building Intersectional Partnerships.
Antony Jackson, Founder, We Can Now
Jenna Jasso, Co-Founder, Festival Beach Food Forest
Larry Franklin, Founder, Black Lives Veggies
Brendan Gemmell, Manager, Neighborhood Program, Austin Animal Center
Moderated by Amanda Masino, Professor of Biology and Chair of Natural Science, Huston-Tillotson University
3:45PM-4:05PM. Fireside Chat with Steven Jennings
Steven Jennings, Stakeholder Relations and Brand Lead, Health & Sustainability at Ahold Delhaize USA
4:05PM-4:25PM. Panel Discussion: Transforming Texas Food Systems through a New Community Empowerment Model
Karin Ascot, Co-Founder, Holocia; Bioregional Leader
Sara Faivre, National Board Member of Farmer Mac; Regenerative Farmer
Jeff Travillion, Travis County Commissioner
Chris Miller, Chair, National Coalition for Community Capital (NC3)
4:25PM-4:45PM. Panel Discussion: Mission Driven Brands and Tasting Experience Part 2
Joseph Brinkley, Senior Director of Regenerative and Organic Development, Bonterra Organic Estates
Samantha Sackin, VP of Integrated Marketing, Organic Valley
Giovanni Quaratesi, Head of Corporate Global Affairs, Certified Origins
4:50PM-5:05PM. Fireside Chat: Connecting the Earth and Universe
Dr. Gary Blackwood, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (ret.), Former Leader of the NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program
5:05-5:20PM. Fireside Chat with Jerome Foster II
Jerome Foster II, Environmental Justice Activist and Social Entrepreneur
5:20PM-5:45PM.. Closing Keynote Fireside Chat with Raj Patel
Raj Patel, Author and Research Professor, Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin
Food Tank brings together some of the world’s most impactful food system leaders. Each event features incredible speakers in interactive panels moderated by top food journalists, plus networking and delicious food.
