Last week, the Pittsburgh Food Policy Council (PFPC) hosted the first-ever “Pittsburgh Regional Food Systems Summit” at Carnegie Mellon University. The event was made possible by the time, energy and enthusiasm of our planning committee, staff, Board, members and partners old and new.

The summit, which sold out in days, brought together nearly 200 Pittsburgh-area food system changemakers. The pre-summit activities - a PA Food Policy Council meeting and an ‘Eat & Greet’ at Community Kitchen Pittsburgh - brought together over 100 people. The collective event was designed to bring together residents from across the region to identify shared goals, foster cross-sector relationships, and elevate the conversation around equitable and sustainable food systems development in the Greater Pittsburgh Region and was offered at no cost to attendees.

In addition to over 20 sessions, the summit featured three full group plenaries:

Black Women in Urban Agriculture in Pittsburgh (panel)
Our Food Stories (an interactive session)
The Future of Regional Food Policy (panel) featuring: Councilwoman Deb Gross, County Executive Sara Innamorato, and State Representative Emily Kinkead.

Workshops and participatory sessions covered topics such as composting, backyard food production, public benefit programs, food access, innovative funding models, and institutions as markets for local growers. The Greater Pittsburgh Food Action Plan, a comprehensive community-centered roadmap and action plan for the region’s food system, served as a backdrop for the day's activities.

As envisioned by our 8-member planning committee, the sessions, plenaries, activities and food were selected in order to:

Celebrate: Regional leaders, successful collaborations, and the work of PFPC partners.
Learn: About how food is grown, processed, distributed, sold, and eaten, while identifying areas for improvement within the regional food system.
Affirm: The importance of everyone's involvement and lived experiences in shaping food systems.
Act: Utilize new tools and resources to develop plans and forge new connections.

“It has been such a privilege and an honor to be a part of Pittsburgh's first Regional Food Summit. The Greater Pittsburgh Food Summit has strengthened relationships across the food system. I greatly enjoyed my time on the planning committee. My fellow committee members are fantastic people dedicated to seeing our vulnerable food system improve. We all have the goal of seeing a more equitable and just food system. The Greater Pittsburgh Food Summit created a space to highlight those who are working in the Pittsburgh region to strengthen and create a more resilient food system. Every person in our region, all interact with the food system and the summit truly proved how connected we all are. It was a beautiful day. The ‘Black Women in Urban Agriculture in Pittsburgh’ panel was amazing! I loved seeing the respect, the passion, and the commitment to Urban growing from those amazing women. That panel truly shows the reality of urban farming in the city of Pittsburgh. Urban farming is black, it's female, and it's hyper local. I'm so looking forward to what comes next."

Denele Hughson (Executive Director, Grow Pittsburgh | Summit Planning Committee)

The full list of speakers, sessions, and event sponsors can be viewed in the summit program book. THANK YOU to all who participated, attended, presented, shared, networked, cooked, ate, moderated, enjoyed, and supported this event! And a special shout-out to all of our fabulous vendors: Carnegie Mellon University, A Few Bad Apples, Community Kitchen Pittsburgh, Sol Patch Garden, Giant Eagle and Chartwells.

We’re already looking forward to next year.

First-Ever Pgh Regional Food Systems Summit - THANK YOU to all of our partners!

New Permanent Discounted Fare Program Announced!