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Call for Proposals: Black Food Policy Summit

The Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center, in partnership with the NYC Mayor's Office of Urban Agriculture, invites proposals for our inaugural Black Food Policy Summit, a policy-focused, action-oriented convening to be held on December 4, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at Hunter College's Silberman School of Social Work campus in East Harlem.

About the Summit

The Summit will bring together Black food and agriculture policymakers, elected officials, legislative staff, and advocates, alongside farmers and growers, chefs, scholars, organizers, entrepreneurs, students, and community members, for a day of dialogue, targeted working sessions and breakouts focused on Black food sovereignty, systems, and policy in New York City and beyond.

What We're Looking For

We welcome proposals for sessions and contributions in the following formats:

- Panel discussions (45 minutes): moderated discussions connecting practice to specific policy questions, priorities or recommendations

- Lightning round presentations (15 minutes): research, case studies, or policy analysis

- Interactive workshops: skill-building, participatory dialogue, or co-design sessions

- Culinary presentations and demonstrations: chefs and food practitioners sharing Black foodways and cuisine

- Facilitation and graphic recording: listen, guide working sessions, and help capture and synthesize core message and action steps

Proposals are not limited to this list, but might address:

- Black food sovereignty and self-determination

- Land access, land reclamation, and Black agrarianism

- Black farmers, producers, growers

- Food apartheid and neighborhood food access

- Agriculture, Agroforestry, Innovative Practices

- Culinary heritage, cultural reclamation, and Black foodways

- Public procurement and the city's purchasing power as a tool for equity

- Black food entrepreneurship, street vending, and small business

- Food justice organizing, mutual aid, and community-led policy change

- Solidarity, local economies, and cooperative models

- Nutrition, health equity, and diet-related disease in Black communities

- Food and the carceral system

- Dismantling racialized capitalism

Who Should Apply

We encourage proposals from people whose expertise comes through formal education, professional experience, or lived expertise, including policymakers, elected officials, legislative staff, advocates, farmers, chefs, organizers, researchers, caseworkers, facilitators, graphic recorders, students, and emerging voices.

What We Provide

- Small honoraria for selected presenters

- Event production, A/V, and staff support

- Promotion through our website, weekly Food Policy Digest newsletter, and social media channels

- A policy paper synthesizing the Summit's discussions and recommendations, published after the event and shared directly with policymakers and elected officials, with contributing presenters credited

Please Note

Funding to assist with travel is unavailable at this time.

First & Last Name

Email

Abstract or summary of your proposal (300 words max): Tell us what you'd like to present or propose, including the session format.

Bio (100 words max): Please include a brief description of your background and work relevant to your proposal.

Application Deadline

November 1, 2026 at 11:59 PM EST

Questions?

Please contact our summit coordinators at info@nycfoodpolicycenter.org with the subject line "BFPS Question."

Thank you for your patience as we review submissions. We have a small but dedicated team and will follow up with decisions as soon as we can. Space is limited and not all proposals can be selected, but we would love to have you join us at the Black Food Policy Summit either way. Stay tuned for details on attendance and registration.