SXSW 2019 Tomorrow's Perfect Food Narrative

1. “Conversations about food have offered paths to
grasp bigger truths about race and identity,
gender and ethnicity, subjugation and creativity.
Today, Southern food serves as an American
lingua franca.”
-John T. Edge
#foodstory
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2. Tomorrow’s Perfect
Food Narrative
#foodstory
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3. #foodstory
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Korsha Wilson
A Hungry Society
@KorshaWilson
@AHungrySociety
Helen Todd
Sociality Squared
@helenstravels
@Sociality2
Nasser Jab
Komeeda
@nasjab (tw)
@nasjab83 (ig)
Mona Al-Mukhaizeem
Savour Ventures
@Monawesome (tw)
@mukhaizim (ig)
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4. @helenstravels @nasjab
@Monawesome @KorshaWilson
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Q: How do you decide what or
where you eat?
• Word of mouth
• Publication
• Yelp or similar app
• Chance
• Something else
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5. Q: What factors do you consider?
• Rating or reviews
• Popularity of brand/chef/restaurant/app
• Price
• Convenience / Location (including delivery)
• Organic and/or Sustainability Produced
• Where food was sourced
• Equity: fair trade/pay/working conditions
• Hiring /promoting practices
• Something else
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6. @helenstravels @nasjab
@Monawesome @KorshaWilson
#foodstory #sxsw
Q: Do you find it easy to know
these factors?
• Absolutely – all of them
• Kind of - Some of them
• Nope - None of them
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7. #foodstory
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Impact on
Culture &
Society
Individual/Family
Groups/Communities
Schools
Non-Profit
Media
Company
Government

8. @helenstravels @nasjab
@Monawesome @KorshaWilson
#foodstory #sxsw
How do we create a more
inclusive world through food?
• Where are we now
• Envisioning a better tomorrow
• How we get there
 Decision-making
 Power of story
 Technology
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9. Where are we now?
What does our food reveal about our culture?
#foodstory
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10. @helenstravels @nasjab
@Monawesome @KorshaWilson
#foodstory #sxsw
“Restaurant criticism is fundamentally
cultural criticism and just as our society
isn’t a monoculture, our restaurant
critics shouldn’t reflect one.”
-Korsha Wilson
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11. @helenstravels @nasjab
@Monawesome @KorshaWilson
#foodstory #sxsw
Seeds – and seeds of change –
know no borders
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12. @helenstravels @nasjab
@Monawesome @KorshaWilson
#foodstory #sxsw
You can’t love tacos and vilify
Mexicans
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13. Our Future Food Story
What do you envision as a better future?
#foodstory
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14. @helenstravels @nasjab
@Monawesome @KorshaWilson
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Our systems should nourish
us from the soil to our souls.
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15. @helenstravels @nasjab
@Monawesome @KorshaWilson
#foodstory #sxsw
Align your decisions with what
you want to see in the world…
and make money too!
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16. Food Decisions &
Decision-Making
#foodstory
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17. @helenstravels @nasjab
@Monawesome @KorshaWilson
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The global food and grocery
retail market size is expected
to reach USD 12.24 trillion by
2020 -Grand View Research, Inc.
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18. @helenstravels @nasjab
@Monawesome @KorshaWilson
#foodstory #sxsw
As a diner/eater/voter/
reader/consumer you do
have power.
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19. Power of Story
#foodstory
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20. @helenstravels @nasjab
@Monawesome @KorshaWilson
#foodstory #sxsw
"Storytelling is the most
powerful way to put ideas
into the world today."
-Robert McKee
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21. @helenstravels @nasjab
@Monawesome @KorshaWilson
#foodstory #sxsw
Stories are catalysts for
change - they take courage
and encourage others.
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22. Technology’s Role
#foodstory
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23. @helenstravels @nasjab
@Monawesome @KorshaWilson
#foodstory #sxsw
Over 80% of restaurants are turning
to technology–like online ordering,
reservation and inventory apps, and
restaurant analytics–now more than
ever to help them run their business
successfully and efficiently
-National Restaurant Association (2016)
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24. @helenstravels @nasjab
@Monawesome @KorshaWilson
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Go beyond intention –
make positive impact
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25. What Can You Do To
Embrace Inclusivity?
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26. #foodstory
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Answer these questions:
• Who are you creating food or food services for and why?
• Who has a need you don't know about?
• Who are you unconsciously leaving out in your process and implementation?
• What steps has your company taken to be more inclusive?
• What gaps or holes exist that you can fill and how?
• Inclusion is NOT a check-the-box exercise. Do you understand how to go
about building inclusion into your business?
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27. Key Takeaways
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28. #foodstory
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• Inclusiveness is good for business
Diversity of flavor and staff reflects good food and growing bottom lines. Hire and work with
people/vendors/partners who are different than you.
• Build inclusion into the fabric of your business
Inclusion is NOT a check-the-box exercise; embrace at every level of your food company as part of
your company culture. Hire outside consultants on unconscious bias, identity, etc.
• Avoid all assumptions about people & be intentional with words and actions
Provide impeccable customer service and internal culture with inclusivity best practices, including
language. For example, replace "Sir/Ma'am" greetings with "what can I get for YOU?”
• Recognize your power
As a diner/eater/voter/reader/consumer you do have power. Make food consumption choices –
media and IRL – based on how you want to see the world.
• Understand your privilege
And to those who are, understand your whiteness and do your homework. If you feel
uncomfortable about any of these topics, get curious and explore why.
• The private sector, NGOs, & government must work together
To truly affect change and solve global problems, these need to work together.
• We’re complex. This conversation is evolving and WE ALL need to be part of it
Unintentionally you may step on someone’s foot in the rich tapestry of society which we live in, and
that’s okay – don’t let it hold you back from participating in the conversation.28

29. #foodstory
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Recommended resources:
• Read: Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? By Beverly Daniel Tatum, PhD
• Read: Privilege, Power, and Difference by Allan Johnson
• Read: White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
• Read: Black Food Geographies: Race, Self-Reliance, and Food Access in Washington, D.C.
• Read: How to Be a Perfect Stranger: The Essential Religious Etiquette Handbook by Stuart M.
Matlins and Arthur J. Magida
• Read: Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity by Matt Bernstein
• Follow/Hire: Haben Girma, Disability advocate - https://habengirma.com @HabenGirma
• Follow/Hire: Dillan DiGiovanni, Identity coach - https://dillan-digiovanni.com @DillanDiGi
• Support: The World Food Program and UNHCR
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30. @helenstravels @nasjab
@Monawesome @KorshaWilson
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What is one action step you'll
take leaving this conversation
today?
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31. Q&A: Hungry for More
#foodstory
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32. @helenstravels @nasjab
@Monawesome @KorshaWilson
#foodstory #sxsw
Please rate us
in the SXSW app.
#thankyou
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33. @helenstravels @nasjab
@Monawesome @KorshaWilson
#foodstory #sxsw
“If you really want to make a friend, go
to someone’s house and eat with
him… the people who give you their
food give you their heart.”
-Cesar Chavez
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