In late January, the Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education, and Policy hosted its 3rd annual Food Ed Conference, bringing together an inspiring mix of school educators, community members, food advocates, and researchers. With the theme “Planting Seeds for a Healthy and Sustainable Future,” this year’s event was a vibrant celebration of innovation, inclusion, and action in food education.
Setting the Stage for Change
The day kicked off with powerful opening remarks from leaders shaping food policy and education in New York City. Representatives from NYC Public Schools and the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy, along with District 6 Council Member Gale Brewer, welcomed attendees and laid the groundwork for a day full of collaboration and learning.
Plenary sessions followed, spotlighting updates to school wellness policies and strategies for integrating sustainability into food education. From there, attendees selected from a wide range of hands-on breakout workshops exploring topics from hydroponics to behavioral change models.
Here’s a look at some of the standout sessions from the day:
EH Exchange: “Don’t ‘Ew’ What I Chew”
In this session, Briana Nurse from EH Exchange offered tools for fostering respectful and inclusive food discussions in schools. Using the Flavor Wheel—a sensory-based framework for describing food—participants gained strategies to help students explore and celebrate food preferences without judgment. The workshop included hands-on tasting stations featuring different rice dishes and concluded with reflective exercises and practical takeaways to create more thoughtful food-tasting environments.
NYC Public Schools: Reimagining Food & Nutrition Standards
Meredith Hill-Patel led an insightful session on NYC’s revised Food & Nutrition Standards, hosted by the Office of Food and Nutrition Services and the Office of School Wellness. The workshop emphasized inclusivity, empathy, and the importance of healthy food. Educators participated in a gallery walk to review and provide feedback on the new Food Ed Standards, followed by group discussions about implementation and personal experiences in the field.
Teens for Food Justice: Hands-On Hydroponics
Jackie Roth from Teens for Food Justice showed educators how to bring hydroponics into their classroom with a lively session on DIY microgreens systems. Participants got their hands dirty, assembling their own growing systems and harvesting fresh microgreens—used to top off avocado toast! The workshop highlighted how hydroponics can be a powerful teaching tool for food justice, plant science, and sustainability.
Grow NYC: “Root Camp”
Adriana Daroqui and Susie Spodek of GrowNYC introduced attendees to “Root Camp”, a hands-on curriculum developed for middle school students. They discussed the importance of eating with the seasons, and provided examples of produce to select during the spring, fall, summer, and winter months. Participants prepared a Moroccan Carrot Salad using fresh, seasonal ingredients (an activity straight from the Root Camp playbook). The session wrapped up with a small gift: seed packets to inspire continued growing at home or in the classroom.
Family Cook Productions: Driving Behavioral Change
In their session, David Bartolomi and Mario Ponsell broke down 10 Experiential Drivers of Behavior Change, developed over years of work in nutrition education. Using the “Teen Battle Chef” program as a case study, they demonstrated how to engage youth in healthy habits through cooking and competition. Participants prepared and tasted Vietnamese-style spring rolls while learning how to translate these drivers into their own educational settings.
New Roots Institute: Advocating for Food Justice
Claire Deshaies led a powerful session titled “Building Compassionate Classrooms,” which encouraged educators to empower students as advocates for food justice and animal welfare. Through interactive discussions, the workshop covered advocacy strategies, policy change, and classroom engagement to inspire a new generation of food systems changemakers.
Here are photos from each workshop!
Looking Ahead
The 2025 Food Ed Conference offered a meaningful space for educators, advocates, and community leaders to exchange ideas and explore practical tools for advancing food education. As participants return to their classrooms and organizations, they do so with fresh insights and strategies to support healthier, more equitable food systems.
We’re already looking forward to next year’s gathering. Until then, keep planting those seeds!
To stay up to date on Tisch Food Center events, visit our Events page!