Shaping the Future of Food Culture Together

Second Karlsruhe Food Summit Aims to Provide Impulses for Expanding the City’s Circular Economy Strategy

08.05.2026 – Following the success of the premiere last fall, the Karlsruhe Food Summit is entering its second round. The course will take place on May 12, 2026 in the Karlskantine and is intended to build on the networking and ideas from the first summit. The focus will be on three central topics: Neighborhood kitchens, pulses in communal catering and direct marketing. The summit is once again being organized in close cooperation between the City of Karlsruhe's environmental protection and occupational safety department, the Karlsruhe Transformation Center for Sustainability and Cultural Change (KAT) and the KA.Wert project.

Fünf Personen stehen an einem Hochtisch in einer Kantine und unterhalten sich. KAT

The Food Summit is a meeting and working session for everyone who wants to contribute to a sustainable food culture in Karlsruhe. People from civil society, business, science and the city administration come together and work together on large and small solutions to make the regional food system healthier, more sustainable and more robust. As this can only succeed in a well-coordinated manner and on a solid basis of trust, the second edition of the summit will once again provide sufficient space for open cooperation and new impetus.

"The first summit showed that there is a great deal of interest in exchange among the stakeholders. Now we want to become more concrete and work together to find out how we can strengthen the circular economy aspect in the food division in order to be well equipped for the future," says Indah Siemon from Environmental Protection and Occupational Safety Karlsruhe.

"From canteens to school catering – Karlsruhe already has many committed people in the community catering sector who are driving the change towards more sustainability. That's why the food summit is so important for our region, especially in view of the circular economy strategy that the city of Karlsruhe is currently developing."

Drei Personen hinter einer Essensausgabe mit Salat und Gemüse.

Zwei Personen am Salatbarbuffet in der Karlskantine.

Vielfältige kleine Desserttörtchen und Patisserie auf einer Buffettafel am Fenster.

For example, the summit deals with questions such as: What is needed for circularity in the food supply division? What can we do outside of the circular strategy? How do the different building blocks of nutrition need to come together to change the system as a whole? The summit will also look at best practice examples from other municipalities, such as the neighborhood kitchens in Munich.

Thematic tables deepen the exchange

In addition to expert input and a panel discussion, there will also be three themed tables. Here, participants can contribute their expertise and exchange ideas with others from the group.

  • The "Neighborhood kitchens" table will focus on how neighborhood kitchens can be implemented in Karlsruhe so that they strengthen regional value chains, make ecological sustainability tangible and act as a connecting element between production, processing and communal enjoyment.
  • The "Pulses" themed table will look at how kitchens can establish new formats and standards while overcoming obstacles in everyday kitchen life.
  • The "Direct marketing" table will focus on the question of how farmers can be better supported in order to make direct marketing in the Karlsruhe region fit for the future.

"As we organize the food summit in a very practical way, groups can find each other and make contacts. It is also important to us to give the participants something to take away with them, to inspire them to take action that is within their means," explains one of the hosts, Sandra Schmidt from KA.Wert.

"It's also great to see that interest in the summit now extends far beyond Karlsruhe's borders. This is certainly also due to the fact that the summit is jointly organized by the city administration, civil society and research, and that this collaboration has created a powerhouse that people from all divisions of the food system can build on."

Gruppe Menschen sitzt um einen Tisch bei einem Workshop. Kärtchen, Stifte und Unterlagen sind auf dem Tisch verteilt. Jörg Schwienke

Involving regional practice partners

A scientific team from the Karlsruhe Transformation Center for Sustainability and Cultural Change (KAT) has already initiated the first Food Summit and is now actively co-organizing the second one. The starting point was the collaboration with regional practice partners within the research project Co-SFSC (Co-Creation of Sustainable Transformations of Food Supply Chains through Cooperative Business Models and Governance).

"Our project has confirmed that there are already many initiatives and committed people in the Karlsruhe area who are working towards a sustainable food system. However, in order to be able to implement such a complex undertaking well, structure and an integrated approach are needed in addition to committed players. We were able to create a good platform for this with the Food Summit. We are all the more pleased that we are now entering the second round with this course," says Wanda Wieczorek from KAT.

As with the last summit in 2025, this course will also end with a joint dinner in the Karlskantine. The discussions of the day can be discussed there in a relaxed atmosphere.

Einladung mit Programm zum Karlsruher Ernährungsgipfel im Mai 2026.

 

Further information