Food Tank : A Food Think Tank, is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

non-profit organization founded in 2013 by Danielle Nierenberg, Bernard Pollack, and

Ellen Gustafson Ellen Gustafson is an American businessperson, social entrepreneur and sustainable food system activist. She is best known for co-founding FEED Projects with Lauren Bush, as well as for founding 30 Project, a nonprofit that aims to look at the lin ...

to reform the

food system The term food system describes the interconnected systems and processes that influence nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients ...

. Its goal is to highlight environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable ways of alleviating

hunger In politics, humanitarian aid, and the social sciences, hunger is defined as a condition in which a person does not have the physical or financial capability to eat sufficient food to meet basic nutritional needs for a sustained period. In the ...

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...

, and

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

. Nierenberg is the winner of the 2020 Julia Child Award, which celebrates leaders who are impacting the world through food. Nierenberg was also awarded th
2022 Food Policy Changemaker Award
from The Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center for making significant strides to create healthier, more sustainable food environments and using food to promote community and economic development.

Conferences

In 2015, Food Tank launched its first Food Tank Summit in Washington, D.C. Since then, Food Tank has been holding a series of summits in various cities focused on sustainability and equity in food systems. Food Tank has hosted summits in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, San Francisco,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

The conferences gather experts across all sectors of the food industry including business, government, nonprofit organizations, farmers, unions, and chefs.

Publications

The organization's website is a publishing platform for news about the food industry and system, and it also provides research and analysis with the goal of building a science-based foundation for changing the food system. Topics covered include

sustainable agriculture Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem ser ...

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

food waste Food loss and waste is food that is not eaten. The causes of food waste or loss are numerous and occur throughout the food system, during production, processing, distribution, retail and food service sales, and consumption. Overall, about o ...

urban agriculture Urban agriculture, urban farming, or urban gardening is the practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around urban areas. It encompasses a complex and diverse mix of food production activities, including fisheries and fo ...

, and policy and organizing. In 2014, Food Tank partnered with the

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...

to publish an annual "Good Food Org Guide," a comprehensive directory of nonprofit organizations that are working toward a better food system.

Podcast

In 2018, Food Tank launched an original podcast, "Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg," on which Nierenberg invites chefs, experts, and activists to outline their ideal food system—and how their projects are making a better food system more attainable.

Interactive musical

''WeCameToDance'' is Food Tank's interactive original musical about the climate crisis. It was developed by Creative Producer Bernard Pollack with choreography by House of Jack, original language by David Peterson of "Game of Thrones", and original music by Grammy-nominated Rocky Dawuni. The show debuted a month-long run at 2021 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and is commissioned perform at the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. During its initial run, ''WeCameToDance'' was featured in the ''New York Times'', ''The List'', Scotsman, ''The Herald'' (Scotland), and ''Edinburgh Reporter'' and the cast performed live on ''Good Morning Britain'', Al Jazeera, and the BBC.

References

{{Reflist Non-profit organizations based in Louisiana