Important Conference
Update
The 10th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference Is Evolving — Join Us December 2–4, 2025
We’re excited to announce the refreshed 10th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference, happening December 2–4, 2025, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
This year’s conference reflects a growing, more inclusive movement — one rooted in community, committed to food justice, and focused on real solutions. Hosted by the National Farm to School Network, the event will bring together leaders, partners, and practitioners from across the country to share ideas, build relationships, and drive meaningful change.
Whether you’re attending, exhibiting, sponsoring, or speaking, this conference offers a platform to rally the movement, build bright futures, and expand our collective impact.
What’s New for the 2025 National Farm to Cafeteria Conference
A More Accessible, Action-Oriented, and Impactful Food Systems Conference
The 10th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference, taking place December 2–4, 2025, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been thoughtfully updated to better serve the evolving needs of food system leaders across the country. Whether you're involved in school nutrition, local food procurement, early care education, or community food access, here’s what you can expect that’s new this year:
Stronger, More Relevant Programming: The 2025 conference will feature an expanded lineup of workshops, breakout sessions, and keynote speakers that address today’s most pressing food system issues — including food sovereignty, farm to school best practices, climate-resilient agriculture, and equitable procurement strategies. Sessions are designed to offer timely, real-world solutions you can bring home and implement.
Expanded Community Impact: Additional planning time has allowed us to deepen partnerships with national leaders and local stakeholders. Expect richer collaborations, stronger content, and a conference experience that creates measurable value for attendees and their communities.
New Networking Opportunities: Building connections is central to the conference experience. We’re integrating new networking features such as facilitated roundtables, peer learning sessions, and informal meetups throughout the event. These are designed to help attendees share resources, build partnerships, and strengthen the farm to cafeteria network.
Greater Accessibility for Producers: By moving the event to early December, we’re increasing access for farmers, food producers, and school vendors who previously faced conflicts during planting and harvest seasons. More producers participating means deeper, more grounded conversations across the farm to institution ecosystem.
Celebrating New Mexico’s Leadership: This year, we’re placing intentional focus on New Mexico’s food systems work — spotlighting Indigenous and Hispanic farming traditions, local innovations in farm to school programming, and regional leaders advancing food justice. The setting offers a culturally rich and inspiring backdrop for this nationwide gathering.
What's new?
Stronger Programming: With additional time to plan, we're curating an exceptional lineup of speakers, workshops, and sessions that address the most pressing issues and opportunities facing our movement.
Amplified Impact: The extra time will allow us to deepen our collaborations with partners, sponsors, and community leaders, ensuring that the conference has a lasting impact on the farm to cafeteria movement and beyond.
