ISLAND FOOD SYSTEMS SUMMIT 

Grow • Gather • Galvanize

September 9–13, 2026 | St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

​

The Second Island Food Systems Summit will bring together farmers, fishers, food entrepreneurs, researchers, policymakers, funders, youth leaders, and regional partners from across the Caribbean and the United States who are committed to building resilient, equitable, and community-centered food systems.

​

Hosted by Virgin Islands Good Food (VIGF), the 2026 summit builds on the momentum of the inaugural convening held in St. Croix in 2024, which brought together over 130 participants from across the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands, Hawai’i, Alaska, and the continental United States to strengthen collaboration and advance food systems transformation across the region. 

​

This year’s summit, themed Grow, Gather, Galvanize, will take place in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands from September 9–13, 2026, and is designed to move beyond conversation and toward collective action.

​

About the Summit. Island communities across the Caribbean continue to face urgent food system challenges including import dependence, climate vulnerability, limited infrastructure, and barriers to equitable access to land, capital, and markets. The Island Food Systems Summit II creates a space for regional collaboration, relationship-building, shared learning, and strategic action planning rooted in the lived experiences of frontline workers and island communities.

​

The summit is intentionally designed to:

• strengthen regional Caribbean food systems collaboration

• center the voices of farmers, fishers, youth, and frontline practitioners

• build trust and alignment across sectors

• develop actionable strategies for food systems transformation

• create pathways for ongoing working groups and partnerships beyond the summit