MEDIA ADVISORY: 1st Annual Food & Agriculture Policy Summit Comes to D.C.

A full-day event convening chefs, farmers, policymakers, and innovators to drive bold solutions for a healthier, more sustainable food system.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Join Food Tank, the Global Food Institute at GW, the Culinary Institute of America, and José Andrés for the 1st Annual Food and Agriculture Policy Summit on October 28, 2025, at the Jack Morton Auditorium in Washington, D.C. in collaboration with Driscoll's, Meatable, and Oatly.

WHAT: 1st Annual Food & Agriculture Policy Summit
WHEN: October 28, 2025
WHERE: Jack Morton Auditorium at the George Washington University (805 21st St NW, Washington, D.C. 20052)

WHY: The 1st Annual Food & Agriculture Policy Summit is a unique chance to connect with leaders shaping a more healthy, equitable, and sustainable food system—and to amplify the solutions already at work.

The Summit will explore practical and actionable policy ideas focused on driving change through procurement, accelerating industry innovation, advancing better health through nutrition, strengthening climate resilience, addressing food loss and waste, reimagining global food aid, and much more.

"We are living in turbulent times—it's more important than ever to have non-partisan, civil discussions about the future of our food and agriculture systems," says Danielle Nierenberg, President at Food Tank.

"Food is so much more than the calories we eat. It's about creating empowerment, strengthening communities, and building a better future. This summit brings together farmers, chefs, policymakers, and academics to rethink how we grow, value, and share food in America. Now is the moment to be building longer tables where we put food at the center of solving our greatest challenges," says José Andrés, Founder of the Global Food Institute at GW.

"More than a convening, this summit creates a pivotal moment for leaders in food, agriculture, health, and justice to come together, spark dialogue, and advance the ideas, partnerships, and policies needed to transform the food system," says Stacy Dean, Executive Director of the Global Food Institute at GW.

"We are training the conscious culinary leaders of tomorrow because we know that what happens on the plate starts long before the kitchen. This summit is an invitation for chefs, policymakers, and food producers to work together to identify levers that deliver unapologetically delicious, healthy, and durable changes to our food system," says Robert E. Jones, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, Industry Leadership and Impact at the Culinary Institute of America.

"At Driscoll's, we recognize that meaningful change in the food system requires collaboration across every part of our enterprise—from farm to table. By working closely with advocacy groups, key opinion leaders, and government officials, we're helping to shape policies that support the people who grow, harvest, distribute, and enjoy our food. Together, we can build a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable future," says Jenet DeCosta, Senior Director of Public Affairs at Driscoll's.

"Today more than ever, Americans want more from their food system. They—like Oatly—are asking hard questions of policymakers, farmers, chefs, and food companies about why we eat the way we do and if Americans' best interests are being prioritized over profits and status quo. This summit is an important opportunity to ask those questions directly of decision makers and coalesce with them around policy solutions to the nutrition and environmental crises we face," says Sara Fletcher, Vice President of Corporate Affairs, North America at Oatly.

Confirmed speakers, moderators, and performers include Casey Aden-Wansbury (Instacart); José Andrés (World Central Kitchen; Global Food Institute, George Washington University); Mchezaji "Che" Axum (University of the District of Columbia); Allison Aubrey (National Public Radio); Charlie Basa (George Washington University); Christa Barfield (FarmerJawn); Jackie Bertoldo (Eat Better by Design); Shontel Brown (U.S. House of Representatives, Ohio); Vern Buchanan (U.S. House of Representatives, Florida); Shante Bullock (DC Central Kitchen); Zacharey Carmichael (World Bank); Tim Carman (The Washington Post); Hank Cardello (Georgetown University); Marcia Brown (Politico); Jennifer Duck (Novo Nordisk); Jenet DeCosta (Driscoll's); Stacy Dean (Global Food Institute, George Washington University); Rachel Fisher (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services); Sara Fletcher (Oatly); Bruce Friedrich (The Good Food Institute); Maria Godoy (NPR Science); Ellen M. Granberg (George Washington University); Robert E. Jones (Culinary Institute of America); Lauren Lumpkin (The Washington Post); Gerardo Martinez (Wild Kid Acres); Dariush Mozaffarian (Tufts University); Marion Nestle (New York University); Anna Nelson (U.S. Department of State); Danielle Nierenberg (Food Tank); Julie Anna Potts (Meat Institute); Roy Steiner (Rockefeller Foundation); Frank Sesno (George Washington University); Chloe Sorvino (Forbes); Johan Swinnen (International Food Policy Research Institute); Jason Tepper (Alexandria City Public Schools); Michael W. Twitty (culinary historian and educator); Ana Villafañe (Broadway and television star); Lyndsay Waugh (Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation); Kia "Chef Kay" Williams (Shaleafa's Kitchen); Katie Wilson (Urban School Food Alliance); and Raigon Wilson (FRESHFARM).

Contact: Bernard Pollack, 3128438612, [email protected]

SOURCE Food Tank