The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Agroecology Program and the Office for Sustainability, in conjunction with the Institute for Ecology, Scholarship, and Health will host a Food Summit during UTRGV’s annual Earth Fest from Monday April 17 to Friday 21, 2023. The Food Summit will celebrate food culture and agricultural history in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) and imagine pathways forward to an equitable food system. The RGV has many assets that give it the potential for a strong and resilient food system, but currently there is a gap between production and community that leads to public health problems, economic disparities, and environmental issues. The Food Summit will serve as a catalyst to forge new, and strengthen existing partnerships to move forward with the intention to address issues of equity around food. 

The Food Summit will bring together diverse ideas and expertise from the community in an open, inclusive, and transparent goal setting process. By bringing farmers, food distributors, educators, academics, activists, artists, and consumers together with policy makers and government agencies to reimagine the food system, the Food Summit will leverage the wealth around food culture and agriculture in our communities. 

Activities include movie screenings, presentations from food visionaries, and conversations around food justice, institutional food procurement, local agricultural history, economic prosperity, and related topics. It will be a hybrid event, with limited in-person seating and live-streamed sessions (where applicable). The event will be free to the public with an RSVP. More details and updates about the event, including schedules, speaker lineups, and locations can be found at www.ecohealthinstitute.com/foodsummit. 

Taste Tradition, Build Resilience.