Food Tank is partnering with the Charlie Cart Project, Edible Schoolyard Project, and Alice Waters to launch a new campaign to promote food education and its role in food systems change. Titled What Is Food Education?, the campaign will feature voices from across the food system sharing what food education means to them.
Food education often drives food systems change, but it rarely receives recognition, says Carolyn Federman, Charlie Cart Founder and Executive Director. As a result, it lacks the resources and legislative support needed to have broader impact. By collecting and sharing a range of perspectives, the campaign aims to build a broader understanding of food education’s value across sectors, demonstrate the relevance and diversity of food education today, and amplify efforts already underway to expand food education nationally.
The initiative also aims to highlight the role of food education in building informed communities that can access, prepare, and share nutritious meals. “Food education is more than a lesson in nutrition or farming—it’s a pathway to community empowerment and transformation,” says Dani Nierenberg, Food Tank’s President and Co-Founder.
The organizers emphasize the urgency of the moment: “There could not be a more important time to support food systems advocacy, beginning with empowering people with as much information as possible. That begins with education,” says Federman.
Video and written responses from chefs, activists and educators will be featured across the organizers’ social media channels. Campaign participants currently include Marion Nestle, Food Policy Author and Researcher, Chef Sean Sherman, Founder of Owamni + The Indigenous Food Lab, Shreela Sharma, Co-Founder of Brighter Bites and Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Texas, and Pierre Thiam, Chef, Author and Restaurateur. The public is also encouraged to participate and share their own reflections using campaign materials available at @GoCharlieCart.
The campaign will run September 22–29, 2025 during Climate Week NYC. For more information on how to participate, visit charliecart.org.
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Photo courtesy of Hung Nguyen, Unsplash
