Climate change poses an immediate threat to the independent restaurant industry and the millions of people that it employs.
Rising temperatures, extreme weather events, floods, drought, fire, and shifts in agricultural patterns are driving up costs for an already vulnerable industry and undermining the ability of chefs to meet consumers’ expectations for high-quality meals at all price points. How restaurants feel that impact will depend on the effectiveness of our collective efforts to reduce climate change.
The Climate Solutions for Restaurant Survival campaign is dedicated to tackling the significant impact of climate change on independent restaurants, chefs, and the local economies they support. We’re bringing together chefs from across the country to raise awareness, educate federal policy makers, and galvanize action to mitigate the impacts of climate change. We will harness first-hand experience to make clear that climate change is not only an environmental crisis; it's a clear and present danger to a thriving independent restaurant industry.
Share your experience with climate change: take our survey.
JBF and the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Working Group have produced a letter urgently calling on Congress to take immediate action to address the impacts of climate change in this year’s farm bill. Read the letter here.
Learn more with our Take Action Summary.
GET INVOLVED:
Campaign Briefing for Restaurant Industry
We held our second industry briefing in April for chefs and other restaurant industry owners. We shared toolkits that can be used for outreach, including an in-district meeting planning guide, a letter- to- the- editor template with instructions, social media templates, and more. Download the toolkits below.
Toolkits:
JBF Climate Campaign In-District Meeting Toolkit
JBF Climate Campaign Communications Toolkit
If you are interested in hosting an event, please reach out to impactforward@jamesbeard.org for an event toolkit.
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You can also catch up on our first briefing specifically designed for chefs and other restaurant industry owners and staff. You’ll hear key elements of the research informing the campaign and learn what you can do—including through upcoming JBF campaign activities—to advocate for mitigation of the impact of climate change on your operations.
Share your commitment to climate solutions on social. Download campaign graphics HERE.
Sample Copy:
Climate change is not only an environmental crisis; it's a clear and present danger to a thriving independent restaurant industry. That’s why I’m joining @beardfoundation’s Climate Solutions for Restaurant Survival campaign to raise awareness, educate federal policy makers, and galvanize action to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Join me and industry leaders nationwide: jamesbeard.org/climate-solutions-for-restaurant-survival
#JBFClimateCampaign
#JBFChefsLead
Watch a recording of our campaign launch:
In partnership with the Global Food Institute at George Washington University, we’ve released a new report outlining how rising temperatures, extreme weather events, floods, drought, fire, and shifts in agricultural patterns have all contributed to the rise of restaurant costs in recent years.
Read the full report.
As a chef, I witness daily the detrimental impact of climate change on my business and my employees. It drives up ingredient costs, causes erratic price swings, and harms the producers who supply us. The restaurant industry already operates on slim margins, and cost increases have an outsized impact that threatens our ability to stay open. We urgently need our elected leaders to take bold action to combat climate change. Our plates, our livelihoods, and our planet depend on it.
—James Beard Award Winner Ricky Moore, Chef-Owner, Saltbox Seafood Joint, Durham, NC