The Future of Food Conversation Series

The futures framework has informed FeedBack Nashville’s work in many ways, one of which is evident in our motivation for hosting, alongside Tennessee Local Food and The Nashville Food Project, the Future of Food Conversation Series. We have hosted a series of panels that are grounded in community members’ experiences and focused on imagining what Nashville’s food system could look like. We spent time diving into topics ranging from urban land use to innovate technologies to radical racial justice and equity; these futures-centric conversations allow us to pull upon our collective pasts to imagine a better future for the collective.

We’d like to extend a huge thank you to the panelists and moderators who have joined us at each event to share their own experiences and wisdom. We’ve heard from faith leaders, farmers, professors, business owners, chefs, and more. The food system impacts people in all corners of Nashville, people with all sorts of professions and experiences, so all people need to be a part of imagining what a better food future should look like.

These conversations have created space for our panelists and attendees to spend time imagining what a different food future could look like. What would our food system look like if we transitioned from a mindset of land ownership to one of land stewardship? What would it look like if there was no food apartheid and if racial justice was established? What would it look like if policy makers and business owners prioritized sustainability and food access as a basic human right? Challenging the status quo of our current system is one of the first steps in working towards a better one.

At each Future of Food event, attendees were given the opportunity to name one word that they think should represent a better food future. Attendees consistently voiced that they want a transformed food system, one that is characterized by accessibility and abundant, local food sources, food that is culturally relevant, fresh, and communal. We are working towards a food system that is characterized by equitable practices and deeply rooted in both modern sustainability methods and indigenous history and community. The potential for this imagined future already exists within our community; these conversations are the start of unlocking it.

While just having these conversations won’t transform our food system overnight, there is power in spending time together, in sharing our individual stories in community. Creating space for these kinds of conversations is a vital part of FeedBack Nashville’s work. We can’t have a better food system for Nashville without first taking the time to imagine what we want that future to look like.

To hear more from these conversations, access recordings of each event on YouTube here.