On Thursday morning, September 25th, Food Tank will host the “Nourishing People, Planet, and Our Future” summit during Climate Week NYC, in partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation. The invite-only event will feature breakfast and lunch, live performances, and panel discussions sharing innovative solutions to nourish people and build climate resilience.
The conversations will focus on unlocking the power of regenerative agriculture and equitable food policies to transform how we nourish communities while protecting the planet. In particular, speakers will explore how regenerative school meals can trigger positive impact across the food value chain, from farmer to eater.
“Regenerative school meals are more than a menu tweak: it is a market unlock for farming that restores soil health, water, and biodiversity, while nourishing children and sustaining farmers,” says Sara Farley, Vice President of The Rockefeller Foundation’s global food team. “Rooted in Indigenous know-how, regeneratively produced food can turn the world’s biggest safety net—school meals—into a lever for climate resilience, feeding pupils today, and safeguarding the planet for tomorrow.”
Held in the Greene Space at WNYC-NPR Studios, the event will begin with breakfast at 9am, followed by programming from 9:30am to 12pm, and a networking lunch from 12pm to 1pm.
Confirmed speakers include Adam Met, multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated musician with AJR and Founder of Planet Reimagined; Paul Polman, the former CEO of Unilever and co-author of Net Positive, known for championing sustainable and inclusive business practices; Eitan Bernath, 23-year-old chef, author, and social media star with millions of followers and billions of views, serves as a High-Level Supporter for the United Nations World Food Programme, inspiring young people worldwide to fight hunger; Deena Shanker, Journalist, Bloomberg; Sara Farley, Vice President, Global Food Portfolio, The Rockefeller Foundation; Aulo Gelli, Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); Carmen Burbano de Lara, Director, School-Based Programmes, World Food Programme; Appolinaire Djikeng, Director General, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI); Maximo Torero Cullen, Chief Economist, U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); Jennifer Burney, Professor of Environmental Social Sciences & Earth System Science, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability; Isabelle Kamariza, Founder & President, Solid’Africa, Rwanda; Gerardo Martinez, Founder and Owner, Wild Kid Acres in Edgewater, Maryland; Kate Mackenzie, Executive Director, Mayor’s Office of Food Policy, New York City; Will Brikerhoff, PhD Candidate, University of Michigan studying crop-livestock integration and agroecology; Emily Weedon Chapman, Senior Social Protection Specialist / Human Development Economist, Social Protection & Jobs Global Practice, World Bank; and Sweta Chakraborty, behavioral scientist and U.S. President of We Don’t Have Time.
“Nourishing People, Planet, and Our Future” will also feature a special musical performance by Cajai Kennedy, a Broadway dancer and actress currently appearing in Wicked, who began her professional career at age 10 in The Lion King national tour and previously performed in Frozen on Broadway. Cajai will be accompanied by Elijah Caldwell, OBIE Award–winning pianist, vocalist, and multifaceted artist based in New York City, featured in the Pulitzer Prize– and Drama Desk Award–winning musical A Strange Loop.
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 2025.
Photo courtesy of CIP – International Potato Center
