Uniting Agriculture and Medicine to Support
Food Sovereignty and Health Justice for All
Agriculture broadly defined for a diversity of food ways to include farmers, foragers, fishers, subsistence hunters, ranchers, wild-crafters, pastoralists, forest producers, and more.
Medicine broadly defined for a diversity of health ways to include all those engaged in health and healing practices.
What We Do
Food as Medicine Global (FAMG) was created to increase engagement in positive food system solutions by growing a global community of farmers, fishers, foragers, ranchers, subsistence hunters, wild-crafters, pastoralists, forest producers, healthcare providers, healers, hospitals, clinics, educators, schools, academic centers, students, cooks, consumers and more - united in a vision of food sovereignty and health justice for all.
Activities Include
Hosting an Annual Conference and other events for continued cooperative engagement and information exchange
Facilitating a Members Online Community Site promoting information exchange and shared learning
Stewarding the Food as Medicine Global Resource Directory to increase awareness, collaboration, and engagement to benefit individuals, communities, and the planet
Our Why
The idea of food as medicine resonates with many in health care and food production. Nutrition is increasingly integrated into health professional training, patient care, and discussions around farming, fishing, ranching, and other food systems. However, people across many communities who want to eat well cannot access healthy or even enough food. Many of those producing and providing our food and health care navigate a multitude of inequities.
Schedule At-A-Glance
Saturday Sunday
SPECIAL GUEST
Oliver Oliveras
Agroecology Coalition
7:00 - 7:45 AM Pacific
Addressing Food Security in Collaboration with Ujamaa
Seed: Tackling Food Injustice and Food Apartheid
Chimene Castor and Bonnetta Adeeb
8:00 - 8:45 AM Pacific
Expanding Eco-Agriculture and Empowering
Family Farmers
Florence (Flo) Reed
9:00 - 9:45 AM Pacific
Past, Present and Future of School Food: A Social Justice Perspective
Cady Molloy
10:00 - 10:45 AM Pacific
Food Pantry Peer Learning and Capacity Building
Jennifer Schrum, Katie Martin, Malarie McGalliard, 11:00 - 11:45 AM Pacific
Urban CSA: Healthy Food Options, Healthy Farms
Sheryll Durrant and Ruth Katcher
12:00 - 12:45 PM Pacific
Food and Grief: What Is Your Grief Craving?
Rebecca Servoss and Roshni Kavate
1:00 -1:45 PM Pacific
Redefining Health:
Why Nutrition Education is Essential Now
Smriti Mehta
2:00 - 2:45 PM Pacific
TBA
3:00 - 3:45 PM Pacific
Creating Resilient Food Systems Through Seed
Diversity , Local Adaptation & Community Control
Julia Dakin
4:00 - 500 PM Pacific
Rooted in Healing - Expanding Food as Medicine using Permaculture Design and Agroecology - From Hospital to Community with Afshan Omar
6:30 - 7:15 AM Pacific
Seeds of Dream of Wild Health: The Sacred Journey of Indigenous/Native Youth Community Healing
MaZaaHeexWinga and Youth Interns/Garden Warriors
7:30 - 8:45 AM Pacific
Greener Cities, Healthier Communities
Tania Roa
9:00 - 9:45 AM Pacific
Gut-Check: The Role of Community Nutrition Education in Healing Youth Trauma
Janine Kennedy and Jordan Van Hoozer
10:00 - 10:45 AM Pacific
High Fiber Interventions for a Healthier Gut: Promoting Equitable Access to Nutrient-Dense Foods
Jessica VanRoo
11:00 - 11:45 AM Pacific
Nourishing Resilience: Bridging Herbalism, Food Justice, and Community Care
Denise Cusack
12:00 - 12:45 PM Pacific
SCU Presentation
1:00 -1:45 PM Pacific
The Healthy Food Program: A Case Study
Ed Gaskin
2:00 - 2:45 PM Pacific
Imagine if Schools Could Feed Their Community... Farm My School
James McLennan
3:00 - 3:45 PM Pacific
KEYNOTE - Brandy Phipps with guest Connor Riegal
Honoring Heritage and Building Community: Global and Cultural Nutrition Education for Healthcare Professionals 4:00 - 5:30 PM Pacific
SPECIAL GUEST Oliver Oliveros
Oliver Oliveros is the Executive Coordinator of the Agroecology Coalition and head of the Coalition Secretariat. Prior to this, he was the interim Executive Director of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, a group of foundations leveraging their resources in shifting food systems towards greater equity and sustainability. He also worked as the Stakeholder Engagement Lead at the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, coordinating the engagement of 100+ food systems champions globally in elevating the food systems agenda.
He formerly served as Deputy Director at Agropolis Fondation where he was incharge of international and scientific cooperation. He brokered dialogue and research collaboration between the scientific community and the civil society as Global Coordinator of the DURAS Project, building on his role in cultivating local innovation in resources management and ecologically-oriented agriculture at the Global Forum on Agricultural Research’s (GFAR) hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N. Before coming to Europe, Oliver was extensively involved in project evaluation and investment programming in the agriculture and rural development as well as in the formulation of the Philippine Agenda 21 and the country’s Development Plan at the Ministry of Socio-economic Planning in Manila.
As our special guest, Oliver will be providing an update on the important work being done at the Agroecology Coalition.
Saturday 7:00 - 7:45 AM Pacific
Addressing Food Security in Collaboration with Ujamaa Seed: Tackling Food
Injustice and Food Apartheid
In recent years, the connection between nutrition and agriculture has gained significant attention in the fields of public health and social equity. This presentation will outline a comprehensive strategy to address food security in communities that are impacted by food injustice and food apartheid. Dr. Chimene Castor and Bonnetta Adeeb will discuss how Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance (UCFA), an organization that advocates for sustainable agricultural practices and food sovereignty, and our partners aim to create a multi-faceted program that empowers individuals and communities to access nutritious and culturally relevant food.
Saturday 8:00 - 8:45 AM Pacific
Presenters
Bonnetta Adeeb is founder and President of STEAM ONWARD, Inc, a Non-profit 501(c3) organization in Southern Maryland, as well as the projects: Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance (UCFA) and Ujamaa Seeds. UCFA is a collective of emergent and seasoned growers who cultivate heirloom seeds and grow culturally relevant plants for food, healing, and textiles. Ujamaa recognizes the need for increased diversity in farming and the seed industry, and the need to provide more opportunities and support for growers from historically oppressed and marginalized communities. To this end the UCFA is working to bridge the gap between prospective growers and seed companies. In addition, she works with the Cooperative Gardens Commission to distribute free heirloom seeds to communities in need serving 300 seed hubs nationally. Bonnetta launched Ujamaa Seeds, a Black Indigenous led online store cultivating and distributing culturally important seeds to increase diversity in the seed industry.
Chimene Castor, Ph.D., EdD, RDN, LDN, CHES, FAND is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences in the College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences at Howard University. Dr. Castor is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) with 20 years of experience working in hospitals, nursing homes, and the community. She is also a certified health education specialist (CHES), Diabetes Prevention Lifestyle Coach, and Advanced Certified Telehealth Professional (ACTTP). Dr. Castor specialized in the prevention of prediabetes and management of diabetes and diabetes-related complications in Black women. She worked in several countries to address nutritional health, such as South Africa, Kenya, Jamaica, Haiti, Tobago, Senegal, Ghana, Benin, and Togo. Dr. Castor is the founder of Sowing Seeds Inc. non-profit organization working to provide nutrition and educational support to children in Haiti and Kenya. Dr. Castor is also the owner of Complete Nutrition Therapy and Counseling, LLC. Her mission is to provide comprehensive nutritional education using a plan-based approach to healing chronic health diseases. www.thecompletenutrition.com
Expanding Eco-Agriculture and Empowering Family Farmers
Sustainable Harvest International (SHI)'s latest program, TREE (Training to Expand EcoAgriculture), aims to enable 1,250 smallscale farmers to regenerate over 12,800 acres of degraded land, plant 1 million trees, and increase incomes and food security for 8,000 people. This program is based on a pilot project that allowed SHI and partners to reach more family farmers and communities with the same amount of resources. By empowering community leaders, SHI's impact multiplied. The TREE program will support farmers transitioning to ecological agricultural practices across Central America. Once farmers learn sustainable techniques, they are better equipped to feed their families, serve their communities, and restore ecosystems.
Florence (Flo) Reed
As SHI's chief visionary and networker, Florence (Flo) is leading SHI's Million Farm Transformation scaling up initiative. She got her start in nonprofit work and serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Panama, before founding Sustainable Harvest International in 1997. Florence is passionate about finding better ways to help the world’s farmers live better while regenerating the planet. This passion and acuity continually revitalize the staff, board, participants, and donors alike. In addition to zipping around the world spreading the good word about what we do and making connections, Florence lives with her family in an environmentally-friendly house on 30 acres of gardens and forest in Surry, Maine.
Saturday 9:00 - 9:45 AM Pacific
Past, Present, and Future of School Food: A Social Justice Perspective
This session will provide an overview of the National School Lunch Program, outlining its extensive impact on 30 million children daily across the country. It will cover the complex history of school food, the current state of these federally funded programs, and the future potential of school food as a powerful tool for food justice. This presentation is aimed at social justice advocates interested in learning more about the largest feeding program in the United States and current school food professionals and advocates looking to dive deeper into leveraging the potential of school food initiatives to promote health and equity. School food’s role in sustainability; quality jobs; food literacy; agriculture and public health will be outlined. The session will include active discussion; relevant case study and thought provoking ideas on the impact of school food.
Cady Molloy
Cady is the Executive Chef for Cherry Creek School District in Colorado. She passionately believes in the transformative power of food and its impact on children, the food system, and the planet. An ongoing advocate for universal school meals and scratch cooking, Cady has led culinary training and progressive initiatives in districts across the country, including spearheading Farm to School programs; implementing school-wide composting and launching school gardens.
With a degree in food policy and a decade of experience in school nutrition, she is dedicated to creating an equitable, sustainable, and culturally inclusive food system for all students.
Saturday 10:00 - 10:45 AM Pacific
Food Pantry Peer Learning and Capacity Building
The New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate (NJOFSA) and More Than Food Consulting (MTFC) hosted eight peer learning sessions with food banks and a select number of food pantries throughout the state of NJ over one year. The virtual meetings centered around better practices, successes, and challenges with increasing access to healthy food. Topics included creating a trauma-informed and welcoming culture, designing pantries where neighbors can choose preferred food with dignity, and working with local farmers to procure and distribute locally grown and culturally preferred food. At each session, leaders were encouraged to share their lessons learned and to network with one another for collective impact. We conducted prepost assessments to measure changes to the food pantry practices. We will share results and examples of fostering peer learning while expanding best practice knowledge for the sector.
Saturday 11:00 - 11:45 AM Pacific
Presenters
Jennifer Schrum, PhD, MSW, MPH Jenny Schrum holds a Ph.D. and Master of Social Work degree from Rutgers University and a Master of Public Health degree from George Washington University. Her expertise includes program design and evaluation, mixed methods research, food insecurity, food policy, and health promotion. Since 2012, she has worked as a direct service provider in various non-profits in New Jersey and Washington, DC, with a focus on charitable food organizations and sustainable agriculture. Jenny currently serves as the Research and Evaluation Strategy Manager at NJ’s Office of the Food Security Advocate.
Katie Martin, PhD, is the CEO of More Than Food Consulting, LLC whose goal is to advance organizational and systems change in the charitable food system. She is recognized as a thought leader on food security issues and has over 25 years of experience developing and evaluating programs to promote health, stability and financial wellbeing. Katie is also the author of the book Reinventing Food Banks and Pantries: New Tools to End Hunger, which was published in March 2021.
Malarie McGalliard, MS, is the Senior Project Manager at More Than Food Consulting, LLC. She brings over 10 years of experience working as a food banker, pantry director, researcher, and policy advocate on a variety of food security and food justice initiatives. Malarie earned her Master of Science in Food Systems from the University of Vermont in 2023.
Urban CSA: Healthy Food Options, Healthy Farms
Many urban CSA models seek out affluent city-dwellers, ignoring the possibility of expanding the model through sliding-scale membership to all community members. We demonstrate two models: one a mature CSA with a healthy demographic at three different income levels, including SNAP/EBT eligible, providing a CSA farmer with long-term stability and growth opportunities. The other is a new CSA at two different locations that is grant-funded to provide healthy food options to a low-income, SNAP-eligible, largely immigrant population. In both cases, education is key, using the Just Food CSA Toolbox to provide a structured process to help CSAs get off the ground and plan for the long-term.
Just Food works passionately to shift the power, health, and wealth of historically marginalized communities that have been purposely divested from by developing community-driven solutions to inequities within the New York regional food system.
We envision a democratic, transparent, equitable, and healthy food system rooted in racial, social, economic, and environmental justice.
Saturday 12:00 - 12:45 PM Pacific
Presenters
Sheryll Durrant is an urban farmer, educator, and food justice advocate. She has been the Resident Garden Manager at Kelly Street Garden since 2016, and is also the Food and Nutrition Coordinator for New Roots Community Farm, managed by International Rescue Committee (IRC). Her work has included developing community-based urban agriculture projects, providing expertise and technical assistance for gardens within supportive housing developments, and she currently serves as Board President for Just Food. Sheryll has led workshops and spoken on issues related to urban agriculture and food justice for many key organizations, and was part of the 2019-2020 HEAL School of Political Leadership cohort. As a former Design Trust fellow for the Farming Concrete project, she is now responsible for communications and outreach for the data collection platform that helps urban farmers and gardeners measure their impact. Prior to her work in urban agriculture, Sheryll spent over 20 years in corporate and institutional marketing.
Ruth Katcher has been a member of the Clinton Hill CSA in Brooklyn since its first season in 2002. She’s been on the core group since 2008 and has led the core since 2014, helping to steer the CSA through enormous changes brought about by gentrification, the challenges of COVID, and food insecurity among many of our neighbors. At least two of her four grandparents grew up on farms in Eastern Europe and rural New Jersey, and she has always explored farmers markets and alternative food systems. In her other life, she edits and ghostwrites books for children and teens.
Food and Grief:
What Is Your Grief
Craving?
How many hands in your lineage have used a single recipe to ease heartbreak and cultivate warmth and love? Grief is often approached intellectually, through a mental health lens. But when we look to our cravings, comfort foods, and senses as messengers, we find that food and food memories reveal a path to navigate hard times and grief. This workshop invites participants to explore food memories, culture, and cravings by way of narrative medicine. Led by two nurses and grief and bereavement experts, we will utilize the storytelling and the sensory body to tend to the heart.
Presentation Outline
Introduction: Brief Presentation on Food & Grief: the cultural importance of comfort foods and food cravings as messengers from the heart (10 min)
The Marigolde Way: Navigating Grief Through the Senses (5 min)
The Seed Journaling Practice: 7 minute sensory journaling to access food memories (10 min)
Conclusion: Community Shares: Food Memory, Connection & Reflection (20 min)
Saturday 1:00 - 1:45 PM Pacific
Presenters
Roshni Kavate, RN, BSN, CHPN is an artist, palliative nurse, grief educator and cook. She is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Marigolde. Marigolde is a grief wellness platform created to nourish grief through rituals and storytelling. She believes grief is a portal to wholeness. The question that guides her is What is our grief craving-- and how can we nourish and feed it?
Roshni earned a B.S. in Nutritional Sciences from UC Berkeley, a B.S. in Nursing from NYU with honors and Ayurveda Postpartum Caregiver Training from The Center for Sacred Window Studies. Roshni has over a decade of Nursing experience in both clinical and leadership positions working with diverse populations in New York City, Los Angeles and Oakland. Most recently she worked as a Palliative Care Nurse at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland.
Rebecca Servoss, RN, NC-BC, RNC-NIC, Co-Founder and COO of Marigolde, is a Board Certified Holistic Nurse Coach and Certified Neonatal Nurse. As co-host of the Mango & Gnocchi Podcast, writer, and grief coach, Rebecca takes an intuitive and holistic approach to storytelling; one that balances opening ourselves to vitality and resilience while creating structure to safely explore and express our grief. Rebecca earned a B.A. from the New School University and a B.S. in Nursing at University of New Mexico. She has worked as a clinical neonatal nurse specializing in neonatal bereavement at the University of New Mexico Hospital, John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County, and Rush University Medical Center.
Redefining Health: Why Nutrition Education is Essential Now
This presentation will explore how teaching about food and nutrition can significantly address key societal challenges, from rising healthcare costs to climate change The session will highlight the importance of nutrition education and its potential to create lasting change within schools, communities, and healthcare systems.
The presenter will share insights from their experience writing a children's book on nutrition and reading it at local elementary schools. During these readings, they were struck by the thoughtful questions the students asked, demonstrating their genuine curiosity about food and health A few weeks later, the presenter received a stack of handwritten cards from the students, filled with additional questions and excitement about what they had learned. These experiences showed how to engage young audiences and simplify complex topics in ways that spark curiosity and foster deeper understanding.
The session will feature interactive discussions and activities, including: Case studies: Successful examples of nutrition education programs, such as Edible Schoolyard, will be presented to show how they’ve transformed student health and academic performance. Practical solutions: Attendees will learn how to integrate nutrition education into existing school curricula, even in subjects like science, economics, and social studies. Engagement: Participants will discuss how to implement small changes in their communities and schools like replacing sugary snacks with healthier options and how these changes can make a big impact over time
By the end of the session, attendees will leave with concrete tools for promoting nutrition education and improving food systems in their own environments. The session aims to inspire educators, parents, and policymakers to view nutrition education not just as a health issue, but as a critical lever for social justice, environmental sustainability, and economic growth.
Smriti Mehta
Smriti is a high school student passionate about nutrition education and public policy. She’s committed to making nutrition science easier to understand for everyone. Smriti has given a TEDx talk on nutrition, published a children's book, and runs a blog focused on simplifying complex nutrition topics for a wider audience. Her work earned her the Let’s Eat Healthy CA Award from the Dairy Council of California, and she’s dedicated to ensuring that more people have access to the knowledge they need to make healthier food choices.
Saturday 2:00 - 2:45 PM Pacific
Building Resilient Food Systems
Through Seed Diversity, Local Adaptation & Community Control
Our food system is failing us—nutritionally, environmentally, and economically. While many efforts focus on how we grow food, few address the genetic foundation of the crops themselves. This session explores an often-overlooked solution: improving nutrient density and community resilience through seed diversity, local adaptation and community control.
We’ll unpack why our current food system selects for uniformity at the expense of nutrition and flavor, how corporate seed consolidation has reduced resilience, and why reintroducing genetic diversity into our food crops is essential for long-term sustainability. This session is for anyone invested in the future of food and will leave you with a new understanding of the power of seeds to change the way we eat and grow food.
Julia Dakin
Julia Dakin, co-founder of Going To Seed is a farmer and seed educator based in Northern California. She is dedicated to building resilient, community-driven food systems. After losing her father to cancer, she sought ways to improve nutrient density and sustainability through seed diversity. In collaboration with landrace plant breeder Joseph Lofthouse and others, she develops educational programs and supports grassroots seed projects.
Saturday 4:00 - 5:00 PM Pacific
Rooted in Healing - Expanding Food as Medicine using Permaculture Design and Agroecology -
From Hospital to Community
Having integrated a thoughtful and comprehensive demonstration within Area 25 Community Hospital focused on combating malnutrition and improving the health and well being of women and babies, this project serves as a model for connecting agroecology, natural resource management, biodiversity, and health through permaculture design. The permaculture focused space has become a healing environment that promotes well-being while sustainably managing resources.
Building on this, women and guardians - supported directly by the hospital and our programsare creating community gardens using similar ecological and culturally relevant principles. These gardens promote food as medicine, seasonal recipes, dietary diversity, income generation and nutrition education beyond the hospitals walls.
Drawing inspiration from what has been created at the facility and natures design, this work strengthens community resilience and supports local food systems. By blending ecological design with culturally rooted care, we are cultivating systems that nourish both people and the land. This presentation will show how these practices are inspiring community-led gardens and a holistic approach to health and sustainability.
Afshan Omar, HBSc - Environmental Science
Afshan Omar is a full-time permaculture designer and a sustainable landuse specialist who developed the vision for the integration of health care, nutrition and agriculture at the Area 25 Hospital under a partnership between the Malawi Ministry of Health and Baylor Malawi. She inspires patients, staff and youth from the community to see the important relationship between the earth, the food we grow and eat and the healthcare provided for mothers and babies at the facility.
cookstoves for the community.
By facilitating a continuous exchange of information and skills, Afshan has built and designed a productive permaculture garden around the maternity-waiting home which also serves as a demonstration site for various ecologically resilient interventions: creative meal planning, composting, backyard garden design, reforestation initiative, plant starter kits, innovative bamboo utilization and the integration of fuel efficient
Sunday 6:30 - 7:15 AM Pacific
Seeds of Dream of Wild Health: The Sacred Journey of Indigenous/Native Youth Community Healing
This presentation will introduce the Indigenous Food Network's efforts to create a Native American urban model for food sovereignty. The network is focused on increasing access to Indigenous foods in schools and programs serving Native American youth and families, while strengthening the network as a whole and individual organizations to effectively carry out its mission. A key element of the network's work is advocating for local and regional policy changes to support the development of an Indigenous food system.
Through these programs, Native youth are empowered to embrace their cultural identities while deepening their connection to the earth, water, pollinators, elders, and peers. A highlight of the network’s initiatives is the Garden Warriors program, a three-week course that teaches Native youth essential life and cultural skills.
Additionally, the network offers summer youth programs at the Dream of Wild Health Farm in Hugo, providing culturally-based lessons for youth ages 8-18. The farm offers a safe and creative space for participants to learn about regenerative organic gardening, healthy food preparation, nutrition, and cultural traditions. In addition to gaining employment and leadership skills, youth are empowered to advocate for healthy community changes through the lessons and experiences provided.
The presentation will demonstrate how these programs contribute to the broader goal of fostering food sovereignty, cultural preservation, and community empowerment for Native American youth and families.
Sunday 7:30 - 8:45 AM Pacific
Presenter
Jill Greendeer, PhD MaZaaHeexWinga
My Hocak name is MaZaaHeexWinga (Swan that dances before take-off) and my colonized name is Jill Greendeer. I am an enrolled citizen of Ho-chunk Nation, and Potawatomi and Kaw descendant. I am Deer Clan and have lived in the Twin Cities for over 20 years. As a Hocak hinuk (woman), Nani (mother), sister, and relative, my life purpose resides within the space of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is part of the bridge between Indigenous communities, Indigenous healing and empowerment, data/food sovereignty, cultural wellness, Indigenous representation in academia and healthcare.
My life work and lived experience have prepared me for this role. I have experience working in academic, corporate, clinical, and community settings both within Native communities and outside of Indigenous societies. I have lived experience as an Indigenous woman in both urban and rural environments that adds to my diverse worldview and gives me a strong sense of grounded Indigenous narrative to pursue my life purpose of helping to heal and empower Indigenous people.
My experiences pursuing a PhD at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing as an Indigenous woman allowed me to develop a heightened awareness of systemic racism and oppression. I recognize systemic racism and oppression are deeply embedded within healthcare and academia. Far too often, we see non-Indigenous people benefit at Indigenous communities’ expense when they are rewarded as leaders and advocates of diversity and equity. They often publish research articles and misrepresent, misinterpret, and misguide their ‘findings’ within Indigenous communities with adverse impacts on Indigenous communities. This experience gave her life purpose and call to action a deeper sense of need and urgency: the opportunity to stand her ground, speak her truth, share her Indigenous lived experience, and find comfort in uncomfortable spaces, conversations, and initiatives.
I am the Program Manager at Dream of Wild Health and Founder of Indigenous Visions Research and Wellness LLC. I understand that we all have tremendous work to do and cannot accomplish this alone. I hope to continue to network with others who want to uplift and empower diverse, and Indigenous voices and perspectives and see the value of protecting the sacred.
Greener Cities, Healthier Communities
This presentation will highlight the importance of urban agriculture and explore the lessons learned from volunteering at organic urban farms across the nation. Based on an upcoming article set to be published in a Northeast magazine, the session will share insights into how urban agriculture can transform cities and address numerous societal challenges.
The presentation will cover:
1.Understanding Urban Agriculture: An introduction to urban agriculture, explaining its role in food production, community building, and sustainability within cities. It will detail how urban spaces, from rooftops to vacant lots, can be utilized for growing food and fostering connections.
2.Examples of Urban Agricultural Projects: The presenter will share personal experiences from volunteering at various urban farms and gardens, offering specific examples of successful projects and the impacts they’ve had on local communities.
3.Addressing Social Issues Through Urban Agriculture: The session will delve into the many social challenges urban agriculture helps to tackle, including food insecurity, lack of green spaces, historic redlining, and poverty. These issues will be explored through the lens of how urban farming provides solutions by offering access to fresh produce, creating jobs, and transforming neglected areas into thriving green spaces.
4.Encouraging Community Involvement: Finally, the presenter will motivate attendees to get involved in urban agriculture initiatives in their own cities. By sharing practical steps and resources, the presentation will inspire others to take action, whether through volunteering, starting their own urban garden, or supporting local projects.
Tania Roa
Tania Roa (she/her) is a climate justice advocate who highlights the connections between animal, human, and planetary health through her articles, campaigns, and presentations. Raised near Los Angeles, California, on the unceded land of the Tongva people, Tania is the daughter of Colombian immigrants Claudia and Henry. She earned a Master of Science in Animals and Public Policy from Tufts University. Tania has delivered over ten public talks, including her TEDx presentation, “How to Protect People and the Planet,” and has published nearly 50 articles. Her work emphasizes the importance of equitable solutions for climate justice and centers the voices of marginalized communities
Sunday 9:00 - 9:45 AM Pacific
Gut-Check: The Role of Community Nutrition
Education in Healing Youth Trauma
This presentation will explore a unique community nutrition-centered collaboration between Teen Feed (a volunteer-powered nonprofit serving nightly meals for houseless youth 13-25 in Seattle) and Nutrition & Dietetic students from the University of Washington and Bastyr University. We will discuss the development of a novel community education “Gut-Check” tool designed to address the profound impact of trauma on youth experiencing homelessness. Drawing upon the expertise of nutrition students, the lived experience of the youth we serve, and the first-hand experience of the presenters as Teen Feed staff, this presentation will explore the concept of “food as medicine,” delving into how, with the support of this tool, Teen Feed's volunteer-made meals are supporting the mental and physical health of youth coping with and recovering from trauma.
The unique aspect of the Gut-Check Tool lies in its emphasis on community nutrition education. This tool will empower both youth and volunteers with knowledge and resources to understand the connection between nutrition, trauma, and overall well-being. Volunteers are supported with the nutrition knowledge to create menus for Teen Feed’s youth that are nutritious, delicious, comforting, and healing, reconciling the duality of nutrition and comfort foods for holistic mind-body nutrition. By fostering a deeper understanding of these critical issues within the Teen Feed volunteer community, we aim to create a more supportive and healing environment for all – most importantly, for the youth we serve. We are excited to share this tool and collaboration in order to inspire others to embrace volunteer-led community nutrition education in support of vulnerable communities.
*Interactive engagement: Small group breakout sessions centered around youth and comfort food – the duality of comfort foods: the mental impact of comfort foods that allows us to overstep some basic nutrition tenants, focusing on holistic mind-body nutrition.
Sunday 10:00 - 10:45 AM Pacific
Presenters
Janine Kennedy (she/they) has been with Teen Feed since 2015 in several roles before becoming the Executive Director. With a BS in Molecular Biology and Applied Biochemistry from USM and Clinical Nutrition from CCA, Grass Valley, she is passionate about the combined power of compassionate, healthy food to address trauma-related symptoms and an integrated approach of nutrition in meal planning.
Jordan Van Hoozer (she/they) has been with Teen Feed for 4+ years, first as the Volunteer Services Manager and now as the Administrative Director. With an interdisciplinary undergraduate degree from Western Washington University, Jordan came to Teen Feed with experience in volunteer management, youth education, and food access work. Teen Feed's steadfast, passionate volunteers and kind, resilient youth guests continue to inspire her every day, and she is honored to share Teen Feed's groundbreaking community nutrition education work with the Food As Medicine community.
High Fiber Interventions for a Healthier Gut: Promoting Equitable Access to NutrientDense Foods
Discover the transformative power of dietary fiber for gut health in this dynamic session. Drawing on years of experience working alongside biochemist Dr. Katrine Whiteson and leading clinicians and other leading doctors in the integrative health field, I’ll share cutting-edge research on fiber's impact on the gut microbiome. Together, we’ve explored innovative strategies to make high-fiber diets accessible and enjoyable. With a focus on flavor and creativity, this session will offer practical tools, evidencebased insights, and fresh approaches to incorporating fiber-rich foods into daily life. Perfect for healthcare professionals, educators, and wellness advocates seeking to inspire change through delicious and healthful eating habits.
Jessica VanRoo, Executive Chef
In the skilled hands of Jessica VanRoo (“Chef Jess”), food becomes medicine that melts in your mouth. A National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, Certified Culinary Medicine Professional, and board member of the American College of Culinary Medicine, VanRoo is at the forefront of the food-as-medicine movement. With two decades of experience and a culinary management degree from the Art Institute of Orange County, VanRoo is passionate about teaching people how to prepare food that tastes great while supporting health. As executive chef of the UC Irvine Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute’s Mussallem Nutritional Education Kitchen, she develops programs that integrate culinary medicine with menus rich in produce influenced by her unique upbringing. Under her leadership, professional chefs, registered dietitians, and physicians collaborate to connect food and health in programs for medical professionals, patients, and community organizations. She also designed the eight-station teaching kitchen to support group medical visits and culinary medicine research. VanRoo developed UCI’s first culinary medicine curriculum for medical students while serving as director of Culinary Recreation and Experiential Programs, reflecting her passion for teaching through food. She also launched Conversation Kitchen, a program exploring the role of food in mediating conflict and communicating values and Cooking with the Professor, where faculty shared culturally significant recipes with students. Her diverse culinary career includes roles as assistant culinary director for Sur la Table, consultant for The Gourmet Child, corporate executive chef for Rimrock Capital Management, and entrepreneur. Committed to expanding the culinary medicine movement, VanRoo contributes to the Culinary Medicine Advisory Board and is active in the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative, a global network of teaching kitchens affiliated with leading medical institutions. Guided by the wisdom of Hippocrates: “Let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food.”
Sunday 11:00 - 11:45 AM Pacific
Bridging Herbalism, Food Justice, and Community Care
Discover how herbalism and food justice can work together to build resilience and promote community wellness. This session will focus on actionable strategies for integrating medicinal herbs with food access initiatives, creating programs that address health disparities while empowering communities. Attendees will gain practical knowledge and skills in cultivating and using herbs as part of a holistic approach to food justice, including examples of successful community collaborations and hands-on engagement techniques.
Denise Cusack, MIFPA, PDC
Denise Cusack is a clinical herbalist, certified aromatherapist, writer, educator, natural perfumer, and permaculture designer. She serves as the Executive Director of Herbalists Without Borders (HWB) and manages its US Seed Grant Program and Donation Distribution Network, distributing seeds, herbal remedies, and aromatherapy supplies to free clinics and community programs nationwide. She also provides technical support to those seeking to grow their own food and medicine to build community resilience.
At Wholly Rooted Farm, a United Plant Savers Botanical Sanctuary, Denise cultivates over 250 species of medicinal and aromatic herbs, along with food crops, to support community wellness. Dedicated to serving the underserved, Denise empowers communities and promotes health equity and wellness through education, mutual aid, and sustainable practices. Find out more at www.HWBGlobal.org and whollyrooted.com. Sunday 12:00 - 12:45 PM Pacific
The Healthy Food Program: A Case Study
Learn how Harvard Street Neighborhood Center transformed the challenge of food insecurity into an opportunity to empower patients to make healthier food choices. Leveraging the expertise of Harvard’s Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN, LDN), the center successfully integrated a food insecurity program within clinical care. Collaboration with community partners such as Stop & Shop and technology provider iQPay enabled patients with Type II Diabetes to easily access dietitian-approved healthy foods directly at grocery stores. By utilizing the Massachusetts Medicaid 1115 Waiver, this initiative presents a practical and scalable model for food-as-medicine programs across the state This session will explore program development, address implementation challenges, and discuss early impacts, emphasizing strategies for combining technology, policy, and community engagement Attendees will gain actionable insights into creating sustainable partnerships aimed at improving long-term health outcomes in diverse populations
Learning Objectives
1.Set Up and Implementation:
Understand the detailed process for launching a similar program at your community health center, including how to navigate common implementation challenges.
2.Reimbursement Requirements:
Learn the critical steps for reimbursement, enabling your health center to effectively recover food costs through Medicaid and related resources.
3.Technology Integration:
Explore the role and operational mechanics of technology in nutrition incentive programs. Gain awareness of the advantages and challenges associated with adopting such technological solutions.
Ed Gaskin, MBA MIT Sloan School, M. Div. Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Ed writes a weekly column for the Boston Herald, addressing critical issues including Food as Medicine, healthcare costs, insurance, and health equity and disparities. Beyond journalism, he actively leads an innovative Food as Medicine initiative specifically designed for food-insecure individuals managing Type II diabetes. Given the program’s initial success, the team is exploring expanding their model to include food-insecure patients diagnosed with hypertension. Ed became passionate about Food as Medicine years ago when he discovered that significantly reducing dietary fat, salt, and sugar could substantially reduce the incidence of diet-related diseases, and was the inspiration for his development of Sunday Celebrations, a gourmet line of plant-based and allergen free products (65 in all) that he describes as. "Gourmet Food that is good for you." Making gourmet food accessible for "health foodies." He speaks and moderates Food as/is Medicine Conferences and serves on the Community Advisory Board for GoFresh, a research program testing to see if the DASH diet can lower blood pressure in Black adults
Sunday 2:00 - 2:45 PM Pacific
Imagine If Schools Could Feed Their Community... |
Farm My School
Farm My School is a groundbreaking model of food education that transforms unused land within schools into regenerative market gardens that feed, educate and connect communities. Hear about the journey of Farm My School and how they converted a disused soccer field into a thriving, regenerative, 1.5 acres market garden at their pilot school Bellarine Secondary College in Drysdale, Australia.
James McLennan, CEO
James is the CEO and Co-founder of Farm My School. He lives and breathes environmental conservation, preservation and regeneration. Combined with his passion for and extensive experience in the sustainability sector, he has seen a fruitful history of partnering with schools on education programs. Over the last 15 years, James has dreamed, designed, developed and implemented education programs to engage people of all ages with their surrounding environment.
James also runs his own business, Grassroots Sustainability, to reconnect people to the food cycle and to instill a greater understanding of how individuals, organisations, businesses and communities can implement sustainable practices.
Sunday 3:00 - 3:45 PM Pacific
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Brandy E. Phipps, Ph.D.
Dr Brandy E Phipps is an Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Life Sciences at Central State University and Principal Investigator of the Phipps Sustainable Nutrition Sciences Lab. With a Ph.D. in Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences from Virginia Tech and over $13 million in external funding, Dr. Phipps’ work spans sustainable community food systems, nutrition, and biomedical science. She directs the $10 million USDA-NIFA SUSHI project on sustainable hemp-based aquaculture and has earned national recognition in education, including the prestigious 2023 USDA and APLU National Excellence in College and UniversityTeaching Award.
Dr. Phipps is renowned across the country for her commitment to mentoring students from underrepresented backgrounds and for her leadership in advancing food security, sustainability, and diversity in STEM.
She has provided invited testimony before the U.S. Congress and serves as Chair of the Interinstitutional Network for Food, Agriculture, and Sustainability, as well as affiliate faculty at the Swetland Center for Environmental Health at Case Western Reserve University.
Her decade of community work prior to joining Central State University transformed her approach to nutrition and food systems, inspiring her dedication to power-sharing, community-engaged research methods. Dr. Phipps’ work exemplifies how robust partnerships can drive meaningful outcomes in both knowledge creation and community well-being.
Guest Presenter
Connor Riegal is a rising 4th year student at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland. During his time at Case, he has been involved in multiple food as medicine efforts. As a Daniel Lewis Ravin Awardee, he cofounded a Food as Medicine Elective that is still active today, pursued training in culinary medicine, and is involved in a project originally sponsored by the AAFP Primary Care Leadership Collaborative (PCLC) to establish a teaching kitchen in partnership with
MetroHealth. He has written and spoken about the importance of nutrition education in medical school and the health risks of industrial agriculture. Before medical school, he spent time at Lā Kāhea Community Farm in Maui, HI which sparked his passion for regenerative agriculture.
Sunday 4:00 - 5:30 PM Pacific
Honoring Heritage and Building Community: Global and Cultural Nutrition Education for Healthcare Professionals
From Dr. Phipps: Now more than ever, health care professionals are needed who are not only experts in the fields of medicine and nutrition but also equipped to approach food and medicinefood As medicine – from a perspective that appreciates the many sociocultural factors that have historically and contemporarily impacted diet, health, and medicine.
Sadly, many curricula and clinical learning experiences do not prepare traditional health care professionals with this holistic understanding, or with the practical skills to provide culturally responsive nutrition and health care. Curricula that focus on the sociocultural dimensions of food, focusing on intersections of food, identity, health, and community are needed.
One example of this is a course I developed that delves into historical and contemporary immigration patterns that have shaped the culinary landscape of the U.S., the impact of colonization on Indigenous and ancestral foodways across the globe, the ways in which traditional foods serve as a form of resistance, resilience, and cultural expression, and how food systems reflect broader societal structures such as race, power, and economics.
Students explore therapeutic uses of food - including its role in traditional health and medicine practices - and the relationship between food, faith, and wellness in various communities. A key course component is a look into students' ancestral foodways and contemporary views around food and health - encouraging reconnection with their cultural heritage through research and storytelling, community-building through shared discovery, and empowerment to critically engage with food as a transformative force in personal and societal contexts - fostering a sense of pride in their own cultural traditions and an appreciation for the diverse foodways that shape the nation and other cultures around the globe.
This presentation discusses 1) observations of and conversations with our student population that led to the course development, 2) examples of course content and activities, and 3) feedback from students regarding the professional and personal impact of the course.
From Connor Riegal: With an increasing awareness and desire for improved nutrition and food as medicine education nationally, it is critical to have discussions around best practices to bring this curriculum to medical students, as well as all health professional students. I will discuss a novel food as medicine elective we introduced for preclinical students at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and our journey, curriculum, and future directions. My peers and I hope that this model can be used to integrate nutrition, agriculture, urban farming, and cooking knowledge that students can pass on to their patients, and implement themselves to create a generation of physicians rooted in the idea that health begins in the soil, not in the hospital.
Thank you! Conference Supporters
Thank you! Conference Supporters
Thank you! Conference Supporters
Thank you! Conference Supporters
Acknowledgments
Logo Graphic Design by Cassandra Lee Houston.
Cover collage photos by Anda Ambrosini, Melanie Anderson, David Clode, Gabriel Jimenez, Taylor Kiser, Brook Lark, Nadine Primeau, Andrew Ridley, Joanie Simon, Markus Spiske, and Marek Studzinski on Unsplash.
Thank you!
