A Meal With a Message

The changing climate and the ability to nourish the world are bound together in an accelerating feedback loop. Food systems are responsible for about one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Agricultural expansion is the leading cause of habitat loss, often resulting in the destruction of biodiverse forests that store carbon. Population growth is expected to increase demand for food by at least 50% by 2050, yet growing that food is ever more difficult as extreme weather and natural disasters are fiercer and more frequent in the era of climate change.

The Nature Conservancy has set out to transform food systems so they are harmonious with nature and sustainable for communities. In one part of India, that change is happening, one school lunch tray at a time.

Lunching and learning

India is the world’s most populous country. More than 1.4 billion people live in less than 2.5% of the planet’s land area, and in spite of major achievements in food production, significant challenges remain in providing access to food and balanced nutrition to all people.

Food is not only essential for survival but also core to cultural expression. In the rural northeast state of Meghalaya, Indigenous communities have long foraged edible wild plants. To support the sharing of traditional knowledge about these foods and increase economic opportunity, the North East Society for Agroecology Support (NESFAS) and The Indigenous Partnership for Agrobiodiversity and Food Sovereignty (TIP) developed community networks called Agroecology Learning Circles to provide information and encourage collaboration.

Sushil Saigal, Executive Director for TNC’s New Delhi-based affiliate, TNC-The Nature Conservancy Centre, says TNC joined the partnership because “community-led initiatives like Agroecology Learning Circles demonstrate how local food systems, livelihoods and nature can thrive together.”

Those networks gave rise to an interest in focusing on healthy food for the youngest members of the community. That led to groups of parents, teachers and children learning how to gather culturally relevant wild foods—from field greens and mushrooms to tubers and fish from streams—to supplement school lunches.

Additionally, the partners support the creation of Mei-Ramew cafes that encourage maximum use of locally available ingredients and promote regional cuisine, culture, traditions and art to neighbors and tourists alike.

An appetite for successful approaches

To date, the partnership has helped establish 100 Agroecology Learning Circles across 100 villages, engaging more than 2,000 community members, 83% of whom are women and youths. In 2025, the initiative won a prestigious global innovation award at the World Food Forum of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization.

Inspired by this recognition, TNC is working to expand the initiative in other parts of India through formal agreements to strengthen communitybased conservation. Furthermore, the applicability of the approach does not stop at the country’s borders. “This work in a remote part of the world is fostering intergenerational learning and action to bolster local community involvement in promoting food security, as well as conservation,” says Sushil. “It demonstrates how Indigenous Peoples’ wisdom, traditional knowledge and ability to adapt can inform resilient food systems that also mitigate climate change and reduce environmental harm.”