South East Queensland Food Summit
July 28, 2024
Shaping a more secure food future through people, policy and plates - to 2032 and beyond
About the summit
Spanning three days in July, the inaugural SEQ Food Summit will gather a diverse crowd of consumers, producers, industry leaders and policy makers to foster meaningful connections and driven conversations - exploring not only why ethical, local food is vital to the health of our communities, but how we can support its production, sourcing and distribution.
This outcomes-focussed event will create a platform for knowledge sharing, collaboration, and sustainable solutions to shape the future of our food system.
Event outcomes
- Catalyse real action toward the goal of increasing Brisbane's consumption of locally grown produce by 30% by the 2032 Oympics
- Publication of a post-event report with recommendations for action and funding to support this goal
- An engaged, mobilised community ready for food systems change
Why now?
Why are we doing this now? Fire, floods, pandemic, panic buying, affordability - if it wasn’t already, recent years have made it abundantly clear that our food systems and supply chains are vulnerable to disruption. It’s more urgent than ever to explore how individuals, private and public sectors across South East Queensland can work together to create a sustainable food system for future generations.
While Queensland does have some government policy addressing climate adaptation for our agriculture industries, it’s mostly targeted at future-proofing export supply chains, and does little to address the needs of local communities at risk of food insecurity.
Meanwhile, consumer trends show increasing demand for affordable, ethical, healthy food that does right by the people who produce and eat it.
On the not-too-distant horizon, the 2032 Olympic Games will put all eyes on Brisbane - presenting a unique opportunity to push for change, so the city and surrounding regions can demonstrate their green credentials through supporting a 'buy local' strategy, strengthening sustainable agriculture and food systems.
The SEQ Food Summit is an exciting opportunity to explore those possibilities at an early stage, and fro all levels of the community to be involved in a well-timed movement making real change.
SUNDAY, 28 JULY 2024
Hosted by author and TV personality Costa Georgiadis, ‘People’s Day’ is a vibrant Sunday festival for the whole community, kicking off the Summit with energy, inspiration and good food. With a farmer’s market, free workshops, kids corner, entertainment and more, find out more here.
MONDAY, 29 JULY 2024
Monday’s session is an afternoon forum bringing together hospitality, wholesalers and farmers - connecting the people who grow our food, with those who work with it at scale, and influence how so many others eat. The panel and workshop will explore ways we can better collaborate to get more local produce into local businesses and institutions, and make ethical, traceable ingredients ‘the done thing’ - not just for high end or trendy spots. Find out more and express your interest in attending here.
Capping off Industry Day but open to all, is an Indigenous conceived and curated event on Indigenous food practices in South East Queensland. Aboriginal food sovereignty, the native food industry and the cultural significance of food, plants, medicines and cultivation practices will be explored by a panel of female speakers. Guests will be served seasonal canapes featuring the best native ingredients from our region. Find out more and get tickets here
TUESDAY, 30 JULY 2024
Day 3 is an intensive conference bringing together policy leaders and decision makers for strategy and lightning talks toward a more secure food future. It will be focussed on the opportunities and barriers in moving from the current state and an increase of 30% local supply by 2032, and what we need to do to make tangible progress toward this goal. This is an invitation-only event.