The Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center has compiled a list of virtual events in February to keep you engaged and up to date on the latest discussions about food policy. If you have an event you would like to add to our list, please email us at info@nycfoodpolicy.org.
Building Back Better: How can public food and agricultural research institutions be strengthened and rebuilt after the COVID-19 pandemic?
Organized By: The International Food Policy Research Institute and the International Consortium on Applied Bioeconomy Research
When: Tuesday, February 2nd, 9:30-11am EST
Length: 90 minutes
About: This virtual policy seminar will address the new challenges that COVID-19 has created within our food system, exploring the ways future agricultural research and food policy can be shaped to address these challenges and build towards a more systematic understanding of our food system.
Registration: Here
Edible Education 101 Online Course
Organized By: UC Berkeley and the Edible Schoolyard Project
When: Wednesday, February 3rd to Wednesday, April 28th (previous lectures from January available on the Edible Schoolyard Project website
Length: One semester
About: Edible Education 101 is a hybrid free public lecture series and for-credit class. Organized by the Edible Schoolyard Project and UC Berkeley, the semester-long course was created by Alice Waters, renowned founder of Chez Panisse Restaurant and the Edible Schoolyard Project. Edible Education 101, now in its tenth year, features lectures from individuals working to increase food justice, including chef and cookbook author, Bryant Terry, and 5th generation family farmer, Nikiko Masumoto. The theme for this year’s course is Seasons of Social Justice.
Registration: Each week a new lecture from the course is posted on the Edible Schoolyard Project website; link to view them here
Migration Stories: Sustaining Gullah Geechee Cooking across Land and Sea
Organized By: The Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD) and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival
When: Wednesday, February 3rd, 8-9pm EST
Length: One hour
About: The Museum of Food and Drink and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival have joined together to present this virtual exploration of the foodways and cultural heritage of the Gullah Geechee people. Moderated by Michelle Lanier, a folklorist, filmmaker, and director of the North Carolina Division of State Historic Sites, the event features chefs Amethyst Ganaway and Benjamin “BJ” Dennis in conversation, and includes a cooking demonstration of crab fried rice adapted from Sallie Ann Robinson’s cookbook, Gullah Home Cooking the Daufuskie Way.
Registration: Here
2nd Global Webinar on Agriculture & Food Chemistry
Organized By: Coalesce Research Group
When: Thursday, February 4th 6:30-9:30 AM PST and Friday February 5th, 6:30-9:30 AM PST
Length: Two days
About: The Agriculture & Food Chemistry webinar aims to raise awareness about the importance of agriculture and allied fields. Open to individuals working across the food and agricultural industries, the two day webinar includes presentations by scientists and researchers from across the globe.
Registration: Here
Feeding the World Through Innovation: How Technology and the Corporate Sector Collaborate to Fight Global Hunger
Organized By: The World Food Programme USA
When: Thursday, February 4th, 11am EST
Length: Not available
About: Join the World Food Programme for a virtual talk with experts and private-sector partners about the ways that cutting-edge technology, both currently in use and under development, is working to build a zero-hunger world.
Registration: Email for event invitation here
Food for Thought: A Conversation with Christopher Kimball
Organized By: KCTS 9
When: Thursday, February 4th, 11am PST
Length: Not available
About: Join multiple James Beard Award-Winning Christopher Kamball, founder of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and host of Christopher Kamball’s Milk Street, for a free virtual event. Moderated by Rachel Belle, host of the Your Last Meal podcast, the event will discuss how food can help bridge cultural divides, and explore the personal impacts of cooking and well-loved recipes.
Registration: Here
From the Continent to the Americas: Foodways, Culture and Traditions in the African American Family
Organized By: Association for the Study of African American Life and History
When: Saturday, February 6, 12-2pm EST
Length: Two-hours
About: As part of their 2021 Black History Month Virtual Festival, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History is offering a free event featuring a panel of historians, chefs, and authors in discussion about the role of food in the life and culture of the African diaspora. Panelists include, Gina Paige, CEO and Founder of African Ancestry; Carla Hall, author and celebrity chef; Stephanie Evans, scholar and author, Georgia State University; and Daphne Maxwell Reid, actor (Fresh Prince of Bel Air) and author of the cookbook, Grace + Soul & Mother Wit.
Registration: Here
Committee on World Food Security (CFS47)
Organized By: The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
When: Friday, February 8th to Monday, February 11th, 9am-5pm (GMT+1)
Length: Thirty-two hours across four days
About: The annual conference of the Committee on World Food Security brings together international and intergovernmental stakeholders to work towards ensuring global food security and nutrition for all. This year the event explores the theme, “Making a difference in food security and nutrition,” as participants work towards the finalization of the CFS Voluntary Guidelines on Food Systems and Nutrition.
Registration: Here
Mayoral Food Forum 2021: Town Hall on the Future of Food in New York City
Organized By: City Harvest, NYC Food Policy Center, UJA Federation New York, Food Bank for New York City, CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute, LiveOnNY, Equity Advocates, Hunger Free America, Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food Education and Policy, United Way for New York City, and West Side Campaign Against Hunger.
When: Tuesday, February 9th, 9:30-11:30am EST
Length: Two-hours
About: 2021 mayoral candidates are offering a free webinar on the future of food policy in New York City. The purpose of the event is to hear, understand, and make public the key food priorities of the candidates running for mayor, including hunger, public nutrition programs, school food and other critical topics. Moderated by Errol Louis, political anchor at NY1 News, the event will be livestreamed on CUNY TV. Questions for the candidates can be submitted here until February 1st.
Registration: Here
Black Smoke: The History of African American Barbecue
Organized By: The Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD)
When: Wednesday, February 10th, 8-9pm EST
Length: One-hour
About: Rocket scientist and BBQ historian Howard Conyers, PhD, pitmasters Ed and Ryan Mitchell, and culinary historian and author Adrian Miller come together for a virtual celebration of the Black culinary heritage of American BBQ. The event also features a debut screening of MOFAD’s virtual reality short film featuring Jones Bar-B-Q from their upcoming exhibit African/American: Making the Nation’s Table.
Registration: Here
Growing Rice: A Migration Story from Seed to Plate
Organized By: The Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD)
When: Wednesday, February 16th, 8-9pm EST
Length: One-hour
About: Spend the evening with Savona Bailey-McClain, chef of rice restaurant FIELDTRIP, JJ Johnson, author of the upcoming RICE cookbook, culinary historian Michael Twitty, and rice farmer Nfamara Badjie for a virtual event that explores the history of rice and traces its roots in the African diasporic identity.
Registration: Here
Guide to Food Insecurity During COVID-19
Organized By: New York Public Library
When: Wednesday, February 17th, 6pm EST
Length: Not available
About: The New York Public Library offers a free virtual event about how to use NYPL.ORG to find resources for those dealing with food insecurity during the coronavirus pandemic.
Registration: Here
Uncle Nearest: Untold Stories Behind the Whiskey Still
Organized By: The Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD) and Green Space
When: Thursday, February 17th, 8-9:30pm EST
Length: 90 minutes
About: The Museum of Food and Drink and Green Space have partnered to provide a virtual exploration of the history and traditions of Afrian American distillers. Fawn Weaver, the CEO of Uncle Nearest Whiskey, Garrett Oliver, Brewmaster of The Brooklyn Brewery, and Shannon Mustipher, author of TIKI: Modern Tropical Cocktails, offer a cocktail demonstration followed by a panel discussion of the entrepreneurship and the legacy of black distillers and brewers.
Registration: Here
Reproducing Hunger in the Pandemic Era
Organized By: Berkeley Food Institute
When: Tuesday, February 22nd, 12-1:30pm PST
Length: 90 minutes
About: Maggie Dickinson, Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at CUNY, talks about the rise of hunger in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic and the political ramifications of increasing hunger for frontline food workers, marginalized groups, and caretakers of children. This event is part of the “Social Reproduction in/under Crisis” series presented by the Department of Gender & Women’s Studies at UC Berkeley.
Registration: Here
Coastal Roots: Tracing the Ancestral History of Farming and Cooking in Georgia
Organized By: The Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD)
When: Tuesday, February 23rd, 8-9pm EST
Length: One-hour
About: Chef and farmer Matthew Raiford of Gilliard Farms, Chef Mashama Bailey of The Grey, and moderator Adrian Lipscombe, restaurant owner and founder of The 40 Acres and a Mule Project, explore the ancestral roots of farming and coastal cooking in Georgia. The event will also include a debut screening of MOFAD’s virtual reality short film featuring Gilliard Farms, part of their upcoming exhibition, African/American: Making the Nation’s Table.
Registration: Here
Winter Family Carnival 2021: Neon Dance Party
Organized By: City Harvest
When: Thursday, February 25, all day
Length: Not available
About: This virtual, stay-at-home event will support City Harvest’s work feeding the 1 in 3 children and their families in New York City who are facing food insecurity because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hosted by Madeline and Anna Zakarian, this City Harvest fundraiser brings the party to your home to create an immersive entertainment experience for the whole family.
Registration: Tickets to the event can be purchased here
The Farmers Protest and the Future of India
Organized By: The Berkeley Food Institute
When: Thursday, February 25, 9-10:30am PST
Length: 90 minutes
About: Join the Berkeley Food Institute for a free virtual panel discussion of the recent protest in New Delhi over the passing of three new farm bills by the Indian government in late 2020. The panel, led by Assistant Professor of Anthropology Aarti Sethi will focus on the ways the recent protests have exposed the structure and nature of economy and state power in contemporary India, and the role that agriculture plays in India’s democratic future.
Registration: Here
The Legacy of Food Activism: A Storytelling Event
Organized By: The Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD)
When: Thursday, February 25th, 8-9pm EST
Length: One-hour
About: This free virtual event includes an evening of storytelling, poetry, and conversation featuring Therese Nelson of Black Culinary History, Chef Omar Tate of Honeysuckle, Paola Velez of Bakers Against Racism, The Common People Poetry Group, Korsha Wilson of A Hungry Society, among others. These special guests will share their own stories about how food became a tool for activism, connecting the dots between past and present of food activism.
Registration: Here
16th Annual Chicago Food Justice Summit
Organized By: The Chicago Food Policy Action Council
When: Thursday, February 25th, Friday, February 26th, Friday, March 5th and Saturday, March 6th
Length: Four days
About: This free virtual summit will provide attendees with opportunities to develop knowledge and engage in conversations on food policy, climate change, community action, and beyond. Attendees will have a chance to engage with food workers, farmers, food vendors, and local leaders, as they work to reimagine the future of Chicago’s foodscape. The summit includes virtual workshops, speakers, resources, and more.
Registration: Here
