Chicago Donut: Snapshot Overview & Food System Deep Dive

What would it take for every Chicagoan to have enough good food, without pushing the environment past its limits?

In December 2025, ChiDEC released the Chicago Donut Report, the first snapshot of how our city performs against Doughnut Economics. The findings were stark: Chicago falls short on all 17 social indicators measured, and overshoots all 8 ecological indicators assessed so far. 

Food has a significant impact on the Donut. In 2023, 14% of Cook County residents were food insecure, against a target of 0%. We need to adjust our food system to increase social equity, public health and quality of life. Our food systems offer fertile ground for large-scale change if we engage stakeholders, policymakers and capital appropriately.

In this webinar, we'll walk through the snapshot's key findings, then share early findings from ChiDEC's draft Food Deep Dive. That’s where you come in. In a hands-on working session, participants will help shape the Food Deep Dive by telling us what we're missing, whose work and experience should be included, and what a just, regenerative Chicago food system should look like. Your input will feed directly into the final report.

Who should attend: community organizers, food justice and urban agriculture practitioners, growers and food businesses, policymakers and public agency staff, researchers, students, funders, and anyone curious about applying Doughnut Economics to their own city.

Agenda:
- Intro
- Chicago Donut Report Overview
- Food Deep Dive Findings
- Working Session (3 prompts)
-Closing Remarks

Working session prompts

1. Filling the gaps: What's missing from our picture of food insecurity and food access in Chicago? Which data sources, neighborhoods or lived experiences should we include?
2. Policy and practice: Which policies and programs are working, which are at risk, and which should the deep dive highlight or advocate for?
3. Who's at the table: Which organizations, growers and community leaders should we feature or partner with? Who is the deep dive for, and how should they use it?