Events
Forum
2026 SAFSF Forum
June 22, 2026 @ 8:00 am – June 25, 2026 @ 5:00 pm EDT
The SAFSF Forum is a unique conference for the full spectrum of funders—including philanthropy, investors, community finance, and intermediaries—to foster collaboration among peers, field leaders, and practitioners across the country around a shared mission for equitable and sustainable food and agriculture. The conference focuses on different approaches to moving impact capital to transform food systems. While funder learning is a central goal, nonprofit movement leaders and food system partners are integral to the event’s success, bringing on-the-ground wisdom and solutions. As we face a moment of profound transformation across non-profit, philanthropy, and food systems, the SAFSF Forum is a gathering place for sense-making, solutions, and solidarity.
The 2026 SAFSF Forum will take place in Savannah, Georgia—a place where Afro-Indigenous stewardship, Gullah Geechee traditions, and Southern agrarian and culinary innovation intersect with today’s climate crisis, land loss, and rural economic disinvestment. The U.S. South is a fulcrum of American food and agriculture: a production powerhouse; a hub for farmworker and H-2A dynamics that shape national food supply; a climate frontline facing extreme heat, hurricanes, and flooding; and a logistics hub where Gulf and Atlantic ports—Savannah among them—move goods globally. Equity, divestment, and ownership struggles are also acutely felt here, from Black land stewardship and heirs’ property challenges to corporate land capture in rural communities forcing displacement of local food systems. Because issues of land justice, climate change, rural economic development, and systems of racism and exclusion converge so intensely in the South, investing in community-led solutions in food and agriculture in the region can offer solutions to the country and the world. Throughout the Forum, we will trace the throughline of Black and Indigenous Agrarianism, uplifting lineages of liberatory organizing, cooperative economics, and rural self-determination that lay the foundation for a climate-resilient, healthy, and equitable food future beyond corporate control.
Keynote Speaker: Stephen Satterfield, Host of Netflix’s High on the Hog
We are thrilled that Stephen Satterfield will be taking the main stage at the 2026 SAFSF Forum as our closing keynote speaker!
Stephen Satterfield has spent his career redefining food and beverage as means of organizing, activating and educating. He is the founder of Whetstone, a groundbreaking magazine and media company dedicated to food origins and culture from around the world, as well as HONE Media, a culinary talent agency.
Stephen is the host of the critically acclaimed Netflix docuseries High on the Hog, which won a Peabody Award for Documentary and two NAACP Image Awards for Best Documentary Series. On the show, he puts Black cuisine at the center of American history, offering a fuller picture of the many people, cultures, and events that make up the story of this country. He and his work have been covered in a massive profile in The New Yorker, as well as in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Fast Company, Business Insider, Slate, Harvard Business Review, and many more.
Prior to his career in media, Stephen was a sommelier and social entrepreneur promoting wine as a catalyst for socioeconomic development for Black wine workers in South Africa.
Host Committee
Meet the local funders and leaders shaping the 2026 Forum to reflect local culture, context, and community impact. To learn more about this incredible committee, click here.
Agenda At a Glance
Take a look at our agenda preview below. We will share speakers and workshop themes over the coming weeks. Early bird registration launches Monday, March 2—your chance to secure your spot at a discounted rate!
Questions? Please visit our FAQs page or email [email protected].
Registration Rates
The SAFSF Forum brings together funders, community partners, and thought leaders in sustainable food and agriculture. Early bird registration opens on March 2, 2026.
Field Partner registration is an SAFSF member benefit. Each SAFSF member organization may invite one representative of an organization that they are sponsoring to attend the Forum. Tickets are limited; we encourage early registration. Email [email protected] for questions about this member benefit.
Make An Impact—Become a Sponsor
The 2026 Forum includes cutting-edge content, inspirational speakers, field-based learning, and unparalleled networking. At a time of profound transformation across food systems, philanthropy, and communities, your sponsorship helps create a space for solutions and solidarity. This unique conference is where field leaders, practitioners, and funders forge new pathways for moving impact capital to transform food systems.
Your sponsorship amplifies the voices of movement leaders and peers working at the intersection of equity, climate, and rural economic development. Check out the sponsorship levels and benefits in this overview, and reach out to our Executive Director, Clare Fox, to secure your sponsorship by Thursday, April 30, 2025.
