On Tuesday evening, Sept. 22, Food Tank will host “People-Focused. Climate-Friendly. Food-Forward New York City” at Climate Week NYC 2026, in partnership with the New York City Mayor’s Office, Strong Roots, and Support + Feed. The summit will explore how New York City’s food future can best promote the health of people and planet.
“We all rely on a complex food system in order to eat, counting on the network of those who harvest crops, ship food into our city, sell groceries, deliver takeout, and cook meals,” says Siddhartha Sanchez, Executive Director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy. “When climate change disrupts our food system, strengthening those relationships creates resilience and helps communities stay fed.”
Food systems are not all created equal—or equitably—and the solution is more inclusion on and off the menu. The summit will investigate how equity and inclusivity are foundational to a food system that promotes the health of people and the planet, featuring city agencies pioneering innovative, nutritious, delicious meal programs that support their unique populations’ well-being and reflect their cultures.
“This Climate Week, we’re elevating the voices of people across City agencies who are championing better ways to serve New Yorkers. Understanding the power of food to nourish our bodies, connect us to our communities, and contribute to climate solutions, together we’re realizing our shared vision for a healthy and sustainable food system—designed by and for New Yorkers,” says Sanchez.
The evening will include culinary student spotlights, fireside chats with food policy leaders, conversations about food and climate justice, and a food stories art exhibition.
Discussions will also explore the power of plants in a more nutritious and equitable food system.
“For a week that puts climate at the center of the conversation, we believe the role food, and particularly the role vegetables can play in building a more climate-friendly food system needs to be firmly on the table too,” says Emma Curtis, Managing Director at Strong Roots, a plant-based frozen foods company. “At Strong Roots, we believe food can be better. We are in the business of making vegetables exciting and constantly innovating to inspire people to eat more of them, more often. We are frozen and veg-based not because we think it’s cool but because we believe it’s the right thing to do.”
Strong Roots and Support + Feed, a non-profit organization that addresses food insecurity and the climate crisis by promoting plant-based diets, are together donating 6,200 meals and pantry items to the local community in New York City during Climate Week.
“We’re excited to be joined by our long-term community partners and friends at Support + Feed, who are doing incredible work across local communities—providing plant-based meals, pantry items, education, and redistributing rescued produce to those who need it most, while highlighting the important connection between our plate and personal and planetary health,” says Curtis.
The event will kick off at WNYC-NPR Studios’ The Greene Space in New York City at 6:30pm with light food and live musical performances, followed by a reception until 9:30pm.
Confirmed speakers include Maggie Baird, Founder and President, Support + Feed; Emma Curtis, Managing Director, Strong Roots; Shyria Donawa, Program Specialist, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; Ora Kemp, Senior Policy Advisor, New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy; Kevin Nakagawa, Community Organizer and Food Stories Lead, Open Doors; Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank; Norman Priester, Executive Director, Nutrition Service Division, NYC Department of Correction; and Siddhartha Sanchez, Executive Director, New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy.
“People-Focused. Climate-Friendly. Food-Forward New York City” will feature a special musical performance by Kaitlyn Davidson, a Broadway actor and singer currently appearing as Helen Pritt in Schmigadoon!, with previous Broadway credits including Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella and Nice Work If You Can Get It. She will be joined by 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.
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.
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