Drawing on foundational works by feminist care ethicists Joan Tronto, Virginia Held, and Nel Noddings, we understand care both as a practice and a political framework. Silvia Federici's powerful analysis of reproductive labour tells us how the essential work of feeding and nurturing has been systematically devalued, yet remains fundamental to sustaining both everyday life and social movements. We recognise food preparation and sharing as deeply political acts—each meal a testament to the often invisible yet vital labour that upholds our communities and fuels our resistance. James Thompson's work on care aesthetics helps us engage with the aesthetic dimensions of such sharing practices and unpack their potential in building caring communities and sustaining activist movements. This aesthetic lens helps us see how sensory and emotional experiences around food create spaces for political imagination and collective action.

We acknowledge, however, that whilst these Western theoretical frameworks are valuable, they only tell part of the story. We seek to engage with Indigenous, Global South, and other minoritised perspectives on care that have long understood the deep connections between food, community, and collective wellbeing. We aim to build on these and expand this understanding by learning from diverse cultural traditions where food preparation and sharing have always been understood as artistic, spiritual, or political practices.

Bite Back is a hybrid forum, to be held on 27 May 2025, looking at the relationships between food, care and activism. We invite participation from activists, scholars, organisers, food justice advocates, community cooks and care workers, food sovereignty activists, mutual aid organisers, artists, and anyone passionate about the intersection of food, care, and activism. Together, we will reflect on our own experiences of the central role of food in activist spaces, and explore how this dialogue and collaboration could take us from plate to action.