When Climate Changes What We Eat: Refugees, Food Systems, and the Hidden Cost of Forced Migration

Speaker: Phimmasone Owens (Refugee Garden Initiatives)

Climate change is increasingly recognized as a driver of displacement around the world, yet one consequence often receives far less attention: what happens to people's food when they are forced to leave home.

This presentation explores the intersection of climate change, forced migration, refugee resettlement, and culturally meaningful nutrition. Drawing from lived experience, community-based work, and the growing field of public health, participants will examine how displacement disrupts traditional food systems and why access to familiar foods is deeply connected to health, identity, dignity, and belonging. Through the story of Refugee Garden Initiatives (RGI), participants will learn how community-led approaches—including healing and vertical food gardens, culturally meaningful food education, and partnerships with local institutions—can help rebuild connections between people, culture, and food while strengthening community resilience.

Following a brief presentation, participants will engage in an interactive activity that invites them to reflect on their own food traditions and consider how the loss of culturally meaningful foods might affect physical health, mental wellbeing, identity, and community. Together, we will explore practical ways that communities, universities, and organizations can support more inclusive and culturally responsive food systems in an era of increasing climate migration. This session is designed for anyone interested in climate justice, migration, public health, food systems, social work, or community-based solutions.

Register Monday, September 21