Next month, FoodCorps will join thousands of educators, entrepreneurs, creatives, and advocates at the SXSW EDU Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas!
Update! The City of Austin has cancelled SXSW EDU in light of uncertainty and concerns around COVID-19. In its public statement, SXSW EDU suggests that the festival may be rescheduled. We hope that is the case and that we’ll have a happier update to share with you soon!
Big news: Next month, FoodCorps will join thousands of educators, entrepreneurs, creatives, and advocates at the SXSW EDU Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas!
It’s an annual event that “fosters innovation in learning,” powered by a community that’s “optimistic, forward-thinking, and purpose-driven with a shared goal of impacting the future of teaching and learning.”
On March 11, Cecily Upton, FoodCorps’ Chief Strategist and Senior Vice President, will moderate a panel with leading advocates for kids’ health focused on unlocking the true power of school meals—a daily opportunity to nourish kids, make them feel welcome and valued, and invest in their futures. You can also catch FoodCorps at the SXSW EDU Playground from March 9-11, where we’ll be cooking up interactive ideas for the cafeteria table of the future: welcoming, joyful spaces shaped by students, where everyone has a seat at the table. We’ll invite SXSW attendees to share their school food vision, enjoy healthy snacks, and speak up for healthy food in schools in the FoodCorps Action Center.
SXSW EDU attracts more than 10,000 attendees, from educators and teachers, to entrepreneurs and creative thinkers, to students and families. Our panelists include Kirby Bumpus, Head of Social Impact at sweetgreen; Tom Colicchio, food entrepreneur, author, and owner and chef of Crafted Hospitality; and Rodney K. Taylor, the Director of Food and Nutrition Services for the Fairfax County Public Schools.
While food brings people together, school lunch has become a divisive issue. However, since their inception in the 1940’s, school meals have seen a ton of progress worth celebrating. In our panel, Unlocking the Potential of America’s School Lunch, experts will offer an interactive, informative dialogue about the innovations being spearheaded in our nation’s cafeterias that are empowering children to make healthier choices.
Panelists will also discuss access and equity among low-income students, opportunities to support healthier school meals through policy change, and the various actions we can take as parents, peers, voters, and citizens to invest in healthy meals at school for our kids. At SXSW EDU, we hope to uplift our shared vision for a world where all kids (and all people!) are excited about eating healthy food at school.
We want to hear from you! Tell us: What do you love about school meals that you want to see on stage? What topics would you like our panelists to lift up? Share your thoughts on Twitter by using the hashtag #SXSWEDU and tagging @FoodCorps.
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