The National Farm to School Network is proud to present the Farm to Cafeteria Conference—a bold evolution designed to deepen our impact, expand our reach, and advance a more resilient and equitable food future.

We recognize that today’s food systems are facing unprecedented challenges. Partners and communities across the country are navigating shifting policies, economic uncertainty, and increasing demands. This conference reflects our commitment to evolving with the moment—offering space for connection, collaboration, and collective action to strengthen the farm to cafeteria movement nationwide.

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.
Enhanced Networking: We'll have more time to cultivate meaningful connections and foster a stronger sense of community among attendees.
Join us December 2–4, 2025, for a reimagined food systems conference that delivers real impact, stronger connections, and practical solutions to grow healthy, community-rooted institutions.Want to be the first to hear about registration, scholarships, or exhibitor opportunities? [Sign up for updates here](link to newsletter or updates list).

Gather with the farm to cafeteria movement

Join over 1,500 like-minded individuals who are working to strengthen local food systems.

Registration & Ticketing

Early bird registration will be available soon. Preview ticket prices and types here.

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Why New Mexico?

Discover the People, Places, and Traditions That Make New Mexico Unique
We’re thrilled to host this year’s conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico — a region deeply rooted in agricultural knowledge, cultural diversity, and community resilience.

Scholarships

A limited number of registration and travel scholarships will be available with additional consideration given to applications in New Mexico and surrounding states including Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
Scholarship applications will open in April, 2025.
Our goal is for 100% of scholarship recipients to be part of our partner network! If you or your organization are interested in becoming a partner,
join here.

Exhibitor Opportunities

Interested in sponsoring the 10th NationalFarm to Cafeteria Conference or fundingscholarships? As a sponsor, you will have theopportunity to reach 1,500 attendees who areleaders in the fields of child nutrition,education, early care, agriculture, policy,research, and evaluation.
Build public awareness of your organization's involvement andsupport for farm to cafeteria efforts and food systems change. Learn more about becoming a sponsor here and learn more about funding scholarships here.
To get started, connect with National Farm to School Network's Development Director, Scott Bunn at scott@farmtoschool.org.

Sponsors

Exhibitor

Program Overview

Tuesday, December 2 – Community Day

3:00PM
Opening Plenary & Breakout Sessions
Lunch with Exhibitors
Afternoon Plenary & Additional Breakouts
Poster Session & Networking
Welcome Reception
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Wednesday, December 3 – Main Program Day 1

3:00PM
Mid-morning Plenary
Breakout Workshops & Interactive Learning
Lunch with Exhibitors
Afternoon Breakouts & Closing Plenary
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Thursday, December 4 – Main Program Day 2

3:00PM
Optional Full-Day Field Trips to Local Sites
Concurrent Intensive Breakouts
Golden Chili Awards
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