Industry Day - SEQ Food Summit

South East Queensland's at a big moment. The decisions being made about food right now - what we eat, how farms survive the next decade, about who supplies our institutions, what our supply chains look like as the region grows - will shape our plates (and region) for a generation. Industry Day of SEQ Food Summit exists to make sure the people doing the actual work have a hand in shaping what comes next. 

If you're a farmer, chef, wholesaler, hospitality or tourism operator, procurement lead or logistics pro, this is the room for you to be in.

You already know supply chains matter and the "why" of sourcing local. What Industry Day is designed to unpack is the how:

• How can regenerative farming and land stewardship break through the perception of risky/niche to build resilience and profitability for the whole supply chain?

• How do kitchens source more locally when margins are tight, volumes are high and consistency matters?

• How do farmers, wholesalers, chefs, procurement teams and venues work together more effectively?

• What support, policy or partnerships are actually needed to make this reality and not just good intentions?

Through a combination of robust discussion, high energy collaboration and real-world experiences, you’ll hear from businesses already making local, sustainable sourcing work, and the peers and future collaborators who can help you do the same. The key findings you raise on Industry Day feed directly into Policy Day, putting the priorities of the food sector in front of government decision-makers the very next morning. 

Your host

Meet your MC, Dani Valent. One of Australia’s most respected food communicators, Dani is a freelance journalist, restaurant critic, award-winning cookbook author, podcast host and ambassador for Fare Share. We’re thrilled to have Dani’s expertise in drawing the good stuff out of chefs, farmers and foodies alike on board to weave the threads of the day.

Agenda

Lunch

We’re all here for the love of food, so we’re not saving it for last. Start the day with lunch, connect with peers and meet some potential partners, and start chatting about challenges you’d like to cover later on. 

Welcome to Industry Day

Includes a report back from People’s Day, held the day before. Hear about the top concerns, priorities and big ideas shared by your community and customers.

Panel: Healthy Country - for productivity, profit & people

Proudly sponsored by Healthy Land & Water

Regenerative farming - buzzword for expensive food, or the key to productivity, profitability and long term resilience (for the whole supply chain)?

This panel challenges the idea that sustainable land stewardship is a cost to farmers and their customers - instead, it's one of the smartest long-term business decisions a producer can make for their land, bottom-line, and the next generation. We’ll look at how producers can make changes, what happens when they do, and how when it’s working, better food, healthier communities and stronger local economies follow. 

Food Connect Foundation’s Rob Pekin will be chatting with:

• Alex Thompson-Welch (regenerative farmer from Eastwell Farms) on what a shift to regenerative practice looks like from the inside, the challenges and possibilities it presents, and sharing that knowledge more widely.

• Dominique Chen (co-founder of Yuruwan, Growing on Country) with a First Nations lens, and the reminder that sustainable land management is not a new idea, but ancient knowledge that the food system is only beginning to catch up with.

• Vanessa Smolders (Sustainable Agriculture Team Lead at Healthy Land & Water) on the catchment-scale science: how soil health, water quality, and biodiversity connect to long-term agricultural productivity and profitable businesses across a region.

Panel: Connecting farm and kitchen

We know sourcing locally and sustainably is brilliant when it works, but comes with its share of competing priorities - too often tossed in the too-hard basket.

This panel gets into what it actually takes to close the gap between what farmers have and what chefs want - and how we can make it more widespread across hospitality, homes and institutions like hospitals. We’re talking to people who have (from a range of angles) come up against the obstacles, but seen it at its best. We’ll look at the common pitfalls, commercial opportunities, and what’s possible for business, community and economy if we tackle it at scale.  

In conversation with Dheepa Jeyapalan from Good Food Purchasing Australia, hear from:

• Martin Bouchier (chef and sustainable hospitality consultant, The Table Food Consultants) on what venues are looking for, the provenance-proximity-profit problem, and what happens when operators get it right.

• Leah Galvin (Churchill Fellow and procurement expert, Good Food Purchasing Australia) on the $2 billion opportunity in Australian government food spend

• Dominiqe Bird (Wild Foods Distribution) on the importance of story, decommodifying food through transparent supply chains, and building pathways for a First Nations-led wild food sector

• Graeme Twine (founder and managing director, Suncoast Fresh) on the role of the wholesaler, the hiccups and wins seen from decades balancing the priorities of producer and buyer.

 

Industry exchange

Something you’re passionate or curious about but can’t see mentioned above? Throughout the afternoon we’ll be collecting your ideas, challenges and burning questions, and the Industry Exchange is where we cover what you’re keen to workshop. This facilitated session will be shaped by you ‘unconference’ style, with discussion driven by the people in the room. Talk over your problems and priorities with peers, or others from across the food system with unique perspectives to share (gravitate to the topics and people you’re keen to learn from, or we can match-make based on your business and goals).

You might cover breaking down the barriers for new farmers, government programs and support, mental health in the food industry, where seafood falls in all this… it’ll be driven by you on the day with support from our team. 

Find some ideas and shared momentum you can take back to your business and your region, while we take it to policy makers and government the next day.

Close, drinks and networking

Bar and conversation are open - seek out that person you heard the awesome question from, the panellist you want to interrogate further, the farmer whose produce you want to stock, or someone who just looks like they are having a good time. Don’t forget to grab a bite from Saucy Wench and Ta’ameya.

Group discount

Get together 3 or more of your mates or co-workers for an automatic 15% off tickets at checkout.

Stick around

Hang around a little longer for Eat Drink Think - food, drinks, and quick-fire talks from people doing cool stuff in food, community and culture (tickets just $10 with your forum pass - add it on at checkout). All welcome, so find out more here and invite your friends who couldn’t make the Industry session but are keen for an evening of good food, ideas and company.

 

If you’re ready to progress your business while helping shape a stronger, more connected food future for SEQ, this is the place to be.

 

Thanks to Healthy Land & Water, this community engagement activity is funded by the Queensland Government's Natural Resource Recovery Program.