Black Foodways at the Great Food Expo

A ten-article cited series on Black food culture — history, economics, accountability, and a field guide — built around the Great Food Expo in Rosemont, Illinois.

The series

1. Why CultureTechLens Is Covering the Great Food Expo — the institutional announcement: why CTL is covering the expo and what the series will do. Published.
2. From Church Kitchens to Convention Centers — the lineage from Africa to the Great Migration to the expo floor. Publishing in series.
3. The $207 Billion Table — the specialty-food market against the 0.4% venture share for Black founders. Publishing in series.
4. Kim Fields Built a Coffee Company — Signature Blends and the celebrity-to-founder pipeline. Publishing in series.
5. The Representation Audit — a ten-question on-the-floor methodology. Publishing in series.
6. Chicago’s Black Food Economy, by the Numbers — Census and Brookings figures on Black-owned business. Publishing in series.
7. Soul Food Is Not a Trend — on expo marketing language: “ethnic,” “artisanal,” “emerging.” Publishing in series.
8. The Sunday Stage — Tamron Hall, Lish Steiling, and the cookbook-pavilion economy. Publishing in series.
9. Where the Food Ain’t — Chicago grocery-gap data against the tasting-expo economy. Publishing in series.
10. Field Guide: Tasting with a Cultural Lens — the attendee’s guide to navigating the floor. Publishing in series.

Articles publish every two days through October 18, 2026.

The event

Great Food Expo — Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, Illinois. Saturday, October 24 (10am–5pm) and Sunday, October 25 (11am–5pm), 2026. Open to the public; $6 general admission, $32 VIP.

Editorial standards

Every article carries full CTL citation branding. No invented facts: exhibitor and attendance figures are flagged as third-party estimates, and representation counts are reserved for on-site observation. Statistics are sourced to the Census Bureau, the Brookings Institution, the Specialty Food Association, and peer-reviewed research, with links.

More CTL work: the Black Culture Guides, articles.

Frequently asked

When and where is the Great Food Expo?

October 24–25, 2026, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois — Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sunday 11am to 5pm.

Is it open to the public?

Yes. General admission is $6; VIP is $32.

What is CTL auditing at the expo?

Representation: who exhibits, who gets the stages, and what the marketing language assumes — using a published ten-question on-the-floor methodology, with counts reserved for direct observation.

Where do the articles live?

Here, in this hub, as they publish — the first is linked above, and the rest arrive every two days through October 18, 2026.

Source: CultureTechLens