September Updates from the Shifting Food Systems Collaborative Community

Shifting Food Systems Updates, shared by Marisa Lim - Bridging Leadership Team 

Global Conscious Food Systems Summit in Bhutan 

Synergos, represented by Ishwarya Subramanian and Melissa Durda, joined the Global Conscious Food Systems (CoFSA) Summit in Bhutan from August 31st to September 4th alongside members of the Shifting Food Systems community, including Rainey Enjady (Life Comes From It), Stephanie Tess Manrique (Sanctuary for the Sacred Arts), Xiaoan Li (Fetzer Institute), Jose Campos (SAN), Luz Elena Navarro Díaz (CoFSA), and Gabrielle Taus, MD (Commonland).  

CoFSA presented a rich conference with many diverse perspectives shared during panel discussions and experiential workshops. The week brought together over 400 delegates from more than 67 countries, spanning government, INGOs, non-profits, and social business.  

The Summit advanced key priorities for the Shifting Food Systems collective action projects. Alongside Shifting Food Systems members, Synergos engaged Indigenous leaders on the Indigenous wisdom working group’s proposed manifesto, sharing an initial survey to gather input and capture lessons learned. Conversations with Shifting Food Systems members prompted valuable feedback on how to meaningfully include Indigenous voices in convenings and how to build trust between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, which will be shared with the wider working group as it moves forward.  

In addition, the team hosted a lunch for the Shifting Food Systems community and Synergos network members to deepen relationships and discuss progress since the last Shifting Food Systems Retreat in Mexico—highlighting the youth employment pilot project in Nigeria and new connections between the Indigenous wisdom working group and the Indigenous delegation at the CoFSA Summit.  

Shifting Food Systems Gathering in Singapore  

On September 7th, Synergos’ Shifting Food Systems hosted a breakfast gathering in Singapore in partnership with Habitat Collective, bringing together members of the region’s food systems community ahead of Impact Week. The event took place at Higher Grounds, a garden established in 2024 that houses more than a hundred climate-appropriate plants and hosts farm tours, volunteer sessions, and farm-to-table gatherings. 

Attendees learned about farmer-centered projects in Indonesia, farm-to-table training, social entrepreneur-led projects in the region, and multi-sectoral and blended finance approaches. Organizations represented include No. 17 Foundation, Grow Asia, United in Diversity, Impact Hub, and AVPN. 

Catalytic Finance Learning Series | John Fullerton on Regenerative Economics  

Starting in September, the Synergos’ Shifting Food Systems Learning Journey and Collective Action Project (SFS) will host a monthly Catalytic Finance Learning Series: an online series featuring architects of catalytic financing whose work represents what our community believes is needed - patient, systemic capital that supports regenerative transformation, and whose learnings we hope will serve the broader food ecosystem. 

Please join us on September 29th at 10:00 AM EST for this first session, featuring John Fullerton. You can register at https://network.synergos.org/networks/events/280856. 

John Fullerton is an unconventional economist, author, and impact investor widely considered the architect of Regenerative Economics. After two decades on Wall Street, where he rose to Managing Director at JPMorgan and led global capital markets businesses, he walked away in 2001 to pursue a deeper question: what would an economy that works like a living system actually look like? He founded Capital Institute in 2010 to answer it.

His 2025 book, Regenerative Economics: Revolutionary Thinking for a World in Crisis (New Society Publishers), argues that the roots of our economic crisis lie in our worldview, and describes what comes next. He was featured in the documentary Going Circular with James Lovelock and is a member of the Club of Rome. He lives in Stonington, Connecticut.