LIFT PROJECT

Food is more than sustenance—it is a story waiting to be told. This dynamic opening panel and showcase merges the hands-on expertise of local farmers and chefs with the investigative lens of visual media experts. Featuring an exclusive documentary screening and highlighting a transformative local partnership, this session sets the table for the day's most important conversations. Together, we will dive into how community-led agricultural initiatives and visual journalism work hand-in-hand to reimagine food media. CHEFS Sofia Pate, Student Media Maker Ismael Jaber, ComArtSci Alumni, Owner, Get Loaded Alexis Schmidt, Student Media Maker Brianna Schmidt, Student Media Maker Eric King, Poppa’s Cookbook Wendi King, Able Allies

Some of the most meaningful conversations in life usually happen in the kitchen. Yet, despite spending most of our waking hours at work, we rarely get the chance to connect on that level with the colleagues we see every day. The Food for Thought changes that. This episode features longtime School of Journalism faculty to share their favorite recipes and the meaningful conversations we often miss out on in the office. Join us for episode two, featuring the beloved Joe Grimm and his expert take on classic Coneys. After, join us for a twist on Coneys, or bring a lunch of your own. But don’t eat alone! We hope you’ll engage with meaningful conversations with those around you while we break for lunch.

A major focus of this session is unpacking the relationship between food and politics. This panel conversation will discuss food insecurity broadly, including the varied ways we become insecure and secure with our food, how it is framed and understood by the media and public, and, most importantly, how we can dismantle old narratives and drive a more sensible, solutions-oriented understanding of food security.

Most people don’t think about this, but food is a space for vital dialogue, community and survival. In this fireside chat, Ashanté Reese will discuss her book Gather, unpacking how food spaces function as critical sites of connection and resistance. Pull up a chair as we explore how the stories we tell about what we eat, where we gather, and how we nourish each other can reshape our approach to local media, food equity, and democracy. CHEFS Dr. Ashanté Reese, Associate Professor, University of Texas at Austin Dr. Danielle Brown, 1855 Professor, Michigan State

Everyone has to eat, but for a long time, only a select few had a voice in mainstream food media. Today, social media content creators are rewriting those rules. Featuring digital creators, traditional journalists, and media-forward food makers, this session unpacks the evolving boundary between culinary criticism and digital content creation. Watch our panelists go head-to-head in a lively, blindfolded tasting experiment, and discover why a healthy food ecosystem needs both the critics and the creators to keep us all informed. CHEFS Jarrad Henderson, Professor of Practice, Michigan State G-Mayne, @blessthabelly, Houston, TX Lyndsay Green, Detroit Free Press Halutu Musa, Content Creator, Lansing, MI

Join us for a conversation with Jamila Robinson, the editor in chief of Bon Appétit, as she shows us how food and drink shape the society we live in. She will discuss how food has served as a north star for deeply and fully representing humanity. CHEFS Jamila Robinson, editor in chief, Bon Appétit in conversation with Lyndsay Green, Detroit Free Press