World Food Day 2025: putting equity on the menu

This week, I’ve been invited to the University of Nottingham to attend the launch of the new Centre for Equitable and Inclusive Food Systems – a timely and powerful initiative that coincides with World Food Day 2025.

World Food Day, celebrated globally on October 16th, marks the 80th anniversary of the FAO and carries the theme: “Hand in Hand for Better Food and a Better Future.” This year, the message is clear: we must build food systems that are not only productive and sustainable, but also equitable and inclusive.

The Centre for Equitable and Inclusive Food Systems is designed to address the systemic inequalities that shape who gets access to nutritious food, who participates in food innovation, and who benefits from food system transformation. It’s about co-creating solutions with communities and embedding justice into the DNA of food policy, production, and distribution.

As I prepare to join researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders at the launch event on Wednesday, 15 October, I’m reflecting on what this means for those of us working in food and drink manufacturing. We talk often about innovation – new formats, new ingredients, new technologies – but how often do we ask: who are we innovating for? Who gets left behind?

If we’re serious about building better food systems, we need to take equity off the sidelines and put it at the centre of strategies.

The Centre’s launch is a chance to explore these questions in depth – and to connect with others who are committed to reshaping the food system from the ground up.

World Food Day reflects the progress we’ve made and the gaps we’ve yet to close. In 2025, hunger and malnutrition persist, even as food waste and obesity rise. Climate shocks, conflict, and economic instability continue to strain supply chains. And yet, there is hope – in the form of collaboration, creativity, and community-led change.

This year’s theme, “Hand in Hand,” reminds us that no one sector can solve these challenges alone. We need cross-disciplinary partnerships. We need bold thinking. And we need to listen.

As I join the Centre’s launch this week, I’ll be thinking about how we can translate equity in product briefs. World Food Day 2025 is a reminder that food systems must nourish everyone. And with initiatives like the Centre for Equitable and Inclusive Food Systems leading the way, I’m hopeful that we’re moving toward a future where innovation and inclusion go hand in hand.

Rodney Jack, editor, Food & Drink Technology.

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