Agenda
8:00 AM Registration and Breakfast
Registration begins at 7:45 a.m.
8:30 AM Welcome Remarks
Ertharin Cousin – CEO & Managing Director, FSFI
8:40 AM Opening Reflections
8:55 AM Keynote Address
Rob Karr – President & CEO, Illinois Retail Merchants Association
9:10 AM Panel | What It Takes to Win: The Community Grocer Operating Playbook
This panel will explore the strategies, decisions, and operating approaches that help mission-driven grocers remain viable, from product mix and customer engagement to partnerships and new revenue streams. Learn More
Moderator: Danielle Nierenberg – President, Food Tank
Panelists: AJ Johnson – CEO, Oasis Fresh Market Jon Roesser – General Manager, Weavers Way Cooperative Association Liz Ravenscroft – Manager, Circle C Market Paul Nair – Chief Executive Officer, Nair Industries
10:00 AM Panel | When Capital Doesn’t Flow: Building the Full Architecture for Community Grocery Investment
This panel will examine how the elements of a viable capital stack can be aligned, sequenced, and integrated. It will bring together perspectives from public finance, private investment, insurance and reinsurance, community development finance, and retail operations to explore how a coherent architecture might be constructed. Learn More
Moderator: Ruby Ferguson – Food Equity Policy Lead, Greater Chicago Food Depository
Panelists: Bob Tucker –President, Chicago Community Loan Fund (CCLF) Greg Hummel –Owner, The Law Offices of Gregory Hummel LLC (DBA PPP-Law) Mike Mallon – Managing Partner, Mallon & Assoc Mark Watson – President & Chief Investment Officer, Potlikker Capital – NM
10:50 AM Lightening Talk
Eli Moraru –Co-Founder & President, The Community Grocer
11:00 AM Break
11:10 PM Panel | Policies that Make Grocery More Viable in Low-Income Urban and Rural Communities
This panel explores the policy conditions that shape whether small and independent grocers can compete, remain viable, and serve underserved communities over time. Panelists will examine key levers such as tax incentives, restrictive covenants, zoning, procurement, and local financing tools, and how these policies affect pricing, competition, and long-term sustainability. Learn More
Moderator: Ruby Ferguson – Food Equity Policy Lead, Greater Chicago Food Depository
Panelists: April Love – Clinical Instructor, Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic Evan Daily – Senior Program Manager of Economic Development, Invest Atlanta Kate Mackenzie – Executive Director, New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy Tariq Sheriff – Business Development Manager, Office of the Deputy Mayor of Planning and Economic Development
11:50 PM | Lunch Break
12:45 PM | Keynote Address
Mike Lee – Principal Futurist, The Future Market
1:15 PM Panel | Protecting Margins, Preserving Access: Reducing Waste, Loss, and Leakage
This panel will explore practical strategies and technology solutions that help stores reduce waste, loss, and leakage while preserving customer trust and dignity. Bringing together a community grocer and technology providers focused on spoilage reduction and theft prevention, the discussion will examine how these approaches, together with community partnerships, outreach and marketing can improve margins, strengthen store viability, and protect access to affordable, nutritious food. Learn More
Moderator: Tambra Stevenson – Founder & CEO, WANDA: Women Advancing Nutrition, Dietetics and Agriculture
Panelists: Elizabeth Abunaw – Owner, Forty Acres Fresh Market Errol Schweizer – Publisher, The Checkout Jordan Schenck– Chief Executive Officer, Flashfood
2:00 PM Panel | Finding the Right Fit: Rethinking Procurement for Grocers in Underserved Communities
Independent grocers serving low-income and underserved communities pay a structural penalty for being small. Lower order volumes mean higher wholesale prices, limited supplier access, and greater logistical friction all of which make it harder to compete with national chains and harder to keep doors open in the communities that can least afford to lose them. This session will explore how emerging approaches, shared procurement infrastructure, alternative sourcing and distribution models, and right-sized technology, can help independent grocers close that gap. Learn More
Moderator: Andrew Kramer –President, Kramer Food Marketing, Inc
Panelists: Chris Gessele – Cooperative Development Specialist, North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives Melissa Ackerman – CEO & Founder, Planet Harvest Dion Dawson – Founder, Dion’s Chicago Dream
2:40 PM Panel | More than a Payment Mechanism: How SNAP Policy Impacts the Retail Environment
SNAP benefits help close to 20 million households purchase groceries each month and for some grocers, it is a significant share of their revenue. But the program’s impact goes far beyond a payment mechanism. SNAP policy can impact the customer experience and the retail environment. Just this past year, we’ve seen how the government shutdown, changes in retailer stocking requirements, states opting to restrict certain foods from SNAP, and deep cuts in SNAP eligibility take place. How are these changes playing out in the grocery aisle and what can retailers do to prepare?
Bringing together federal, technology, advocacy, and retailer perspectives, the discussion will explore how this program functions as both household support and critical revenue streams for grocers. Panelists will examine how program rules affect operations, product mix, and customer access, and where adjustments could better align policy with on-the-ground realities. Through practical insights and examples, this session highlights opportunities to strengthen the connection between federal nutrition policy and sustainable retail access. Learn More
Moderator: Stacy Dean – Executive Director, Global Food Institute, George Washington University
Panelists: Justin King – Policy Director, Propel Rachel Newman – Community Health Manager, Restore, OKC Matt Stienstra – Director of Advocacy and Community Engagement, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin
3:20 PM Break
3:30 PM Armchair Conversation | Data Driven Solutions: Using Evidence to Build Thriving Grocery Retail Ecosystems
In this forward-looking conversation, Ertharin Cousin sits down with Mari Gallagher, one of the nation's leading experts on community data and food access, to explore how data can help communities move from analysis to action. Learn More
Sean Park – Program Director, Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs, Western Illinois University
Mari Gallagher – Principal at Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group
4:00 PM Closing Panel | Food Policy Councils: Where do we go from here?
Moderator: Ertharin Cousin – CEO & Managing Director, Food Systems for the Future Institute
Panelists:
Winona Bynum – Program Officer, WK Kellogg Foundation Roger Cooley – Executive Director, Chicago Food Policy Action Council (CFPAC) Alba Velazquez – Executive Officer, LA Food Policy Council
5:00 PM Grocery Retail Resilience & Innovation Award Reception & Ceremony
This event will celebrate the inaugural Grocery Retail Resilience & Innovation Award recipients, recognizing visionary leaders and organizations advancing innovative solutions that strengthen grocery retail in underserved rural and urban communities.
For more information, please contact us at GRS2026@fsfinstitute.net
Join us to identify what works, and scale it.
Be part of the national effort to strengthen grocery retail in underserved communities.