On Thursday afternoon, Sept. 24, Food Tank will host “Acting at the Speed of Crisis: Challenges & Opportunities for Food Security Rapid Response” at Climate Week NYC 2026, in partnership with RAAPID and the Arrell Food Institute. The summit will explore how organizations can rapidly mobilize resources, leverage innovation, and build more resilient systems to meet urgent food security needs.
“Food security crises rarely happen in isolation. Severe weather, conflict, supply chain disruptions, and other pressures can compound quickly, while the information needed to understand what is happening on the ground often arrives too slowly. We now have the tools to change that,” says Inbal Becker-Reshef, Managing Director of Microsoft AI for Good Lab and Founder of RAAPID.
Food security emergencies are becoming more frequent, more complex, and more interconnected, driven by conflict, climate change, economic instability, and public health crises. Responding effectively requires not only speed, but stronger coordination across governments, nonprofits, researchers, and the private sector.
“By bringing together Earth observations, AI, and expert networks, we can turn complex signals into actionable information when decisions can still prevent a shock from becoming a crisis. The challenge now is building the system and investments needed to make that capability available when and where it matters most,” says Becker-Reshef.
Experts will identify opportunities to strengthen preparedness, collaboration, and long-term resilience for communities around the world. Panel discussions will cover topics including the power of geopolitics and food, as well as how climate change is fueling more frequent food crises.
“As climate change escalates and more people around the world face crop failure and food precarity, anticipatory action becomes absolutely essential,” says Evan Fraser, Executive Director of the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph.
“Anticipatory action is not an optional extra. Combining remote monitoring with on-the-ground context means that emergency aid can go where it is most urgently needed, and we can identify the supports and buffers required to prevent catastrophic failure.”
The event will kick off at WNYC-NPR Studios’ The Greene Space in New York City at 1:30pm with lunch and live musical performances, followed by a reception until 4:30pm.
Speakers include Governor David Beasley, Trustee, The Rockefeller Foundation; Former Governor, South Carolina and Former Executive Director, United Nations World Food Programme; Inbal Becker-Reshef, Managing Director, Microsoft AI for Good Lab, Founder & Co-Director NASA Harvest, and Founder, RAAPID; Ambassador Ertharin Cousin, Founder and CEO, Food Systems for the Future; Máximo Torero Cullen, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Evan Fraser, Executive Director, Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph; Ruth Hill, Director, Markets, Trade, and Institutions, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); Melissa Mahtani, International Affairs Journalist; Adam Met, Musician of multi-Platinum band AJR, Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, and Climate Activist; Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank; Ambassador Philip Thigo, MBS, Special Envoy on Technology, Office of the President of Kenya; Michael Werz, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations; Simon Winter, Vice President for Reimagining Humanitarian Nutrition Security, Rockefeller Foundation Catalytic Capital (RFCC); and Andrew Zolli, Chief Impact Officer, Planet.
“Acting at the Speed of Crisis” will feature a special musical performance by Oluchi Nwaokorie, Broadway actor and singer currently Elphaba standby in Wicked, following performances in the Parade National Tour and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. She will be joined by Noah Turner, Music Director, Conductor, Pianist, and Arranger.
This summit will be streamed live on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel, here. Join the Food Tank newsletter list for reminders, and click here for Food Tank’s full lineup of events at Climate Week NYC 2026.
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