2026_Nourish_Symposium_Program

Program

2026 Nourish Food for Health Symposium Who Health Care Feeds

Please note that the program will continue to evolve and be updated on an ongoing basis as details are finalized.

Territorital Acknowledgement We gratefully acknowledge that the Symposium 2026 gathering will take place on the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Peoples, who have cared for these lands since time immemorial.

“Land-based food connects us to our ancestors. Our traditional food is healing and nourishes our spirit. We are who we are because of our ancestors and the Indigenous foods that sustain us in a holistic manner.

Our traditional food is healing. Mother Earth provides, therefore we must harvest with love and respect.”

Jenny Cross, Haida Knowledge Keeper

Meet the Nourish Team Amy Ford is Nourish’s Director of Planetary Health. With a decade of health care food leadership, she is intimately aware of the enabling factors for teams to achieve improved procurement values, community collaboration, waste reduction, and menus that are culturally mindful and low-carbon. Amy lives on land that has long existed in reciprocity with Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, and Lūnaapéewak peoples.

Hayley Lapalme is Nourish’s co-Executive Director. Hayley is a systems thinker and facilitator who has spent a decade working with public institutions on pathways to more sustainable futures. Drawing on a background in adult education and systemic design, she weaves collaborations that rebuild connections to land, health, and each other. A franco-Ontarian settler, Hayley is now based in Victoria.

Jennifer Reynolds is Nourish’s co-Executive Director. She believes that aligning mission, mandate, and margin can transform systems, and that delicious food will drive innovation in healthy eating and sustainability. Based in Halifax, she has over 20 years of experience in local food promotion, sustainable agriculture, food security, and food policy.

Ngaire (pronounced Ny-ree) Leaf is Nourish’s Manager of Events and Operations. Ngaire has a background in education planning, professional development, and nonprofit work, with a focus on food security. Passionate about sustainability, Ngaire embraces plantforward food and enjoys life with her family on the traditional unceded and ancestral territories of the q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen), Máthxwi (Matsqui), & Se’mya’me (Semiahmoo) First Nations.

Roya Damabi is Nourish’s Director of Innovation and System Transformation. Roya is a systemic design practitioner and design facilitator, with over 15 years experience working with toolkits from policy, systems and complexity, biomimicry, and design justice to shift sticky systems. Roya makes home in amiskwaciy-wâskahikan (ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᐋᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ), Edmonton, in Treaty 6 Territory.

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Symposium 2026 brings together inspirational speakers and thought leaders.

Learn. Connect. Gain inspiration.

Together with health care and food system leaders, practitioners, and partners, we’ll explore urgent and inspiring questions at the intersections of food, culture, climate, and care.

Nourish is proud to collaborate with Vancouver Coastal Health to co-host Symposium 2026.

Get Social!

Sharing an inspirational quote, interesting statistic, or important takeaways on social media? Please tag Nourish and use the hashtag #NourishSymposium26

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Travel Guide Venues Symposium 2026 will take place across multiple locations throughout Vancouver, offering participants the opportunity to experience a variety of learning environments.

Keynote sessions and workshops will be hosted at Vancouver General Hospital and UBC Robson Square, with additional Learning Journeys taking place at locations across the city.

Accommodations

UBC Robson Square 800 Robson Street Vancouver, BC V6Z 3B7

Stay in the heart of downtown Vancouver at the Metropolitan Hotel Vancouver, Nourish's preferred hotel for Symposium 2026.

Getting Here

Metropolitan Hotel Vancouver 645 Howe Street Vancouver, BC V6C 2Y9 (604) 687-1122

Nourish is pleased to offer Air Canada as the preferred airline of Symposium 2026.

An Air Canada flight discount code is available for Symposium registrants.

Please visit the Nourish Commons Symposium 2026 space to access promotional codes.

Health & Safety Symposium 2026 is mask-friendly. Please bring your own mask if you would like to wear one. We will have some masks available in case of illness.

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Just a short walk from UBC Robson Square, the hotel offers stylish accommodations, complimentary Wi-Fi, an indoor pool and sauna, a 24-hour fitness centre, and exceptional hospitality. Guests can also enjoy the acclaimed Diva at the Met Restaurant & Bar, making it an ideal place to relax after a day of learning and connection.

Nourish has secured a special discounted room rate for symposium attendees.

Please visit the Nourish Commons Symposium 2026 space for booking details and to access promotional codes.

DAY ONE: Learning Journeys Day One of Symposium 2026 is a day for learning journeys. Learning journeys are guided excursions that blend real-world application, practice, and reflection into memorable learning experiences that stick. Journeys will take place at various locations throughout Vancouver.

Symposium 2026 Learning Journeys Growing Food, Growing Change UBC Farm Step into one of Vancouver's leading urban farms and explore how food can nourish both people and the planet. Tour the UBC Farm alongside farmers, chefs, and changemakers who are reimagining local food systems. Through stories and conversation, discover how collaboration, sustainable agriculture, and community partnerships are helping shape the future of food in health care and beyond.

Talking Trees and Indigenous Foodways Stanley Park Experience the forest through an Indigenous lens on Talaysay Tours' renowned Talking Trees Walking Tour. Guided by Indigenous Cultural Ambassadors, you'll learn how the plants and trees of the Coast Salish territories have sustained communities for generations through food, medicine, and culture. The journey continues with a reflective session led by Kitty RLynn Lickers and members of the Nourish Indigenous and Allies Advisory, exploring Indigenous foodways, relationships to land, and pathways toward Truth and Reconciliation.

Cooking Up a Healthier Future Skript Kitchen Roll up your sleeves for an interactive culinary experience where food is a catalyst for learning. Guided by chefs and food system leaders, participants will prepare a delicious and nutritious planetary health-inspired lunch while exploring how culinary innovation can support healthier people, communities, and the planet. Through cooking teamwork, conversation, and a shared meal, discover the power of food to inspire change.

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All Symposium participants will be invited to choose one learning journey to participate in on Day One. Learning Journeys will be pre-registered with preference given to early bird ticket-holders. More details and registration information coming soon!

Designing Menus for People and Planet Dogwood Care Home Follow the journey of a thoughtfully designed meal from farm to plate, all while learning how menus can support health and well-being of all our relations. This immersive experience offers a behind-the-scenes look at healthcare foodservice, highlighting the tensions and possibilities among nutrition, sustainability, culture, and resident experience. Through storytelling, hands-on learning, and shared conversation, you’ll gain practical insights into how to make meals that are meaningfully delicious, nourishing, and environmentally conscious.

Food Justice and Systems Change Coming Soon...

What role is health care playing in transforming our food system...and what role should it be playing? Explore how community-based organizations and leaders are working together to address the root causes of food insecurity, working with the tensions between vital shorter-term actions and longer-range systems change aspirations. You’ll learn directly from those advancing food justice, reducing food waste, strengthening community food hubs, and creating new partnerships between health care and local food systems.

Discover how you can move beyond only treating symptoms to taking proactive action, deepening connections between food, health, and well-being.

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Schedule at a Glance: DAY 1 - EXPERIENCE Please note that details will evolve and this program updated as the agenda is finalized.

TIME (PT)

SESSIONS

8:00 AM

Travel Time

9:00 AM

Learning Journeys (includes lunch)

System Partners Workshop (by invitation only, includes lunch)

1:00 PM

Return Travel and Break

2:00 PM

Transformational Leadership toward Planetary Health through Food Afternoon Plenary Session

5:00 PM

Rooftop Reception

Looking for a simple way to brief your colleagues, supervisor, or team on attending Symposium 2026?

Download our handy one-page flyer.

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Thank you to our sponsors for helping to bring Symposium 2026 to life.

Thank you to Nourish’s funding partners for your ongoing support.

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DAY TWO: Workshops Day Two of Symposium 2026 is a day for coming together in plenary conversations and workshops. Curate your food for health adventure by choosing your own morning and afternoon workshops.

Morning Workshops 1A

Delicious Nutrition: Designing Menus That Feed People, Culture, and Planet

1B

Food as Care: What Patients Need from Food in Health Care

1C

Two-Row Foodways: Indigenous Food Access, Policy, and the Right to Nourishment

Afternoon Workshops 2A

Impact Purchasing: Capital Stack Coordination to Build the Missing Middle for Farm-to- Institution

2B

Future Proofing

2C

Leading the Shift: The Human Side of Food Transformation

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Schedule at a Glance: DAY 2 - GATHER Please note that details will evolve and this program updated as the agenda is finalized. *See following page for workshop information.

TIME (PT)

SESSION

7:30 AM to 8:30 AM

Breakfast

8:30 AM

DAY TWO BEGINS Who Health Care Feeds Morning Plenary Session & Keynote Address Break Morning Workshops* Lunch Voices from the Field Exploring Soil, Health and Microbiome Connections Afternoon Plenary Session & Keynote Address Afternoon Workshops* Break Closing Together

5:00 PM

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END of SYMPOSIUM 2026

Become a Symposium 2026 Sponsor

For Nourish Symposium 2026, we’ve created a suite of sponsorship opportunities that make clear how your support is making an impact. For donations of every size, type (monetary or in-kind), we will work with your team to create a meaningful, aligned, and dynamic sponsorship opportunity.

As a sponsor, you’re not just supporting the conversation - you’re making it possible. Join Nourish’s 2026 Symposium Sponsorship Team and position your organization at the forefront of meaningful change.

Nourish welcomes conversations with partners interested in co-creating opportunities aligned with their values and impact goals.

Check out our Sponsorship Prospectus

Help Lift Our Work Nourish is driven by a mission to create lasting change in food and health systems, but we cannot do it alone. We invite you to join us by contributing to our cause. Every donation, whether big or small, plays a crucial role in elevating our work throughout the year.

Donate

Speakers, Moderators, and Guides Our list of speakers will be updated on an ongoing basis as speakers are confirmed.

Annie Lalande is a fifth-year General Surgery resident at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Dr. Lalande completed her medical degree at McGill University and earned her PhD in 2025 from the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at UBC. Her doctoral research explored how hospital food systems can improve patient nutrition while advancing environmental sustainability. At Vancouver General Hospital, she evaluated baseline menu performance, identifying gaps in patient satisfaction, nutritional adequacy, and high levels of food waste, alongside the environmental impact of animal-based proteins.

She then led the development and evaluation of a novel planetary health menu. Her work demonstrates that plant-rich diets can be successfully integrated into acute care settings, with co-benefits for patient care and climate mitigation.

Darcia Pope is VP Strategy, Innovation & Planetary Health at Vancouver Coastal Health where she draws on years of experience in health care, including roles in change leadership, information technology, strategy and transformation. In her current role, Darcia leads the Planetary Health Strategy for VCH. She believes that health professionals have a tremendous opportunity to protect those they serve from the impacts of climate change by working to create sustainable, climate-smart health systems.

David Speight is the Executive Chef and Culinary Director at the University of British Columbia, where he leads one of Canada's largest campus dining programs with a focus on sustainability, innovation, and exceptional culinary experiences. With more than 30 years of professional experience, David is a certified Red Seal chef and a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. He has championed initiatives that advance local food purchasing, plantforward dining, and food waste reduction, while fostering strong community partnerships. A recipient of the UBC President's Staff Award for Leadership, David is passionate about using food as a catalyst for environmental stewardship, student wellbeing, and a more resilient food system.

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Elaine Chu is a Registered Dietitian and Director of Food Services Transformation & Strategic Projects with Fraser Health in BC. With over 20 years of experience in healthcare food services, Elaine sees every meal as an opportunity to make a positive difference in the health of people and planet. This belief continues to guide her work and shapes how she approaches system design, decision‑making, and leadership. Elaine enjoys turning dreams into actions. Her areas of interest include using technology to improve process flow and service quality, advancing culinary medicine, embedding sustainability in hospital food service, and fostering meaningful cross‑sector collaboration. At the heart of Elaine’s work is a simple belief: every system, meal, and decision is a chance to improve the everyday experience of care and the environment we live in.

Jeff Thompson is the former CEO of Gundersen Health System, pediatrician, and author of Lead True: Live Your Values, Build Your People, Inspire Your Community. He was CEO of Gundersen Health System for 14 years, responsible for improving quality, lowering costs, and advancing care into the community. His long experience as an intensive care pediatrician and senior executive has shown him how leading from one’s values can affect tremendous lasting change. During Dr. Thompson’s tenure, Gundersen Health System decreased GHGs by 95% and hazardous pharmaceutical wastes by 98% - while decreasing the cost of care and improving the local economy. Gundersen was repeatedly recognized nationally for excellence in quality and cost-effectiveness. Dr. Thompson received the inaugural Practice Green Health Visionary Leader Award and was the only US provider to speak in the Blue Zone at the Paris Climate talks. He is a recipient of the White House Champions of Change Award.

John McGraw is Executive Vice President, Product Strategy and New Business at HSO and Accreditation Canada. He is an expert leader in the transformation of products and services with the aim of creating value at every stage of their life cycle. He leads HSO’s green strategy, including the Climate Action Benchmarking Tool, developed in partnership with the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care (CCGHC), through both pilot and launch.

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Julia MacLaren is a registered dietitian with over 19 years of experience, specializing in culinary medicine and nutrition interventions for behaviour change. She has practiced in mobile diabetes care for Indigenous populations with Health Canada; team-based primary care in Edmonton area Primary Care Networks; and undergraduate nutrition and interprofessional education at the University of Alberta. As the Alberta Health Services Wellness Kitchen Consultant, she developed a systemlevel culinary medicine model integrating interdisciplinary clinical care with practical food-skills intervention. Julia’s MSc research evaluated a culinary medicine adjunct to specialty care. Currently pursuing a PhD in Health Services Research, her doctoral work co-designs and evaluates an RCT of a culinary medicine intervention for individuals living in supportive and transitional housing. Julia co-leads Nourish’s Culinary Medicine Community of Practice. Internationally, she co-leads the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative’s Nutrition Committee. She combines clinical, systems, and research expertise to develop and evaluate practical, patient-centered dietary strategies.

Food offers a straightforward, and delicious way for health care providers to improve planetary health.

Coolfood is a globally-recognized, user-friendly way to quantify the climate impact of food, created by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and shared with Canadian hospitals in partnership with Nourish.

Learn more by visiting nourishleadership/programs/planetaryhealth

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Myles Sergeant is a family physician with 25 years of experience working with vulnerable populations, including new immigrants, refugees, individuals experiencing homelessness and addiction, and the elderly. He is dedicated to addressing the intersection of environmental issues and health. In 2023, he became the Executive Director for the Canadian Coalition for Green Healthcare. Dr. Sergeant also serves as co-lead of Partnerships for Environmental Action by Communities within Healthcare Systems (PEACH Health Ontario), is co-founder of Trees for Hamilton, and was the founding Medical Director of the Shelter Health Network in 2005. He holds the position of Assistant Clinical Professor at McMaster University. Dr. Sergeant collaborates with healthcare professionals and institutions to implement sustainable healthcare solutions and has launched national committees focused on sustainable procurement, food systems, and prescribing practices.

Ned Bell is a Canadian chef, keynote speaker, and sustainable food systems advocate based in British Columbia. Born in the Okanagan, he connects great food with environmental responsibility, focusing on responsible sourcing, food security, and the future of sustainable dining. Ned is co-owner of Hatch Hospitality, Creative Advisor for the Centre for Food, Wine and Tourism at Okanagan College, a Buy BC Champion and Ambassador, and Co-Chair of Sustainability at the Chefs’ Table Society. He is also the only Canadian chef member of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Blue Ribbon Task Force and is the author of Lure: Sustainable Seafood Recipes from the West Coast. Follow along @nedbell on Instagram.

Ojistoh Kahnawahere Horn is Kanienkeha:ka. Her mother is from Kahnawake, Québec and her father is from Akwesasne, which saddles the borders of Ontario, Québec, and New York State. Dr. Horn (MSc, MD, CCFP) works as a family physician taking care of her people through all stages of the lifecycle. Supervising medical students and family medicine residents during their rural rotations in Akwesasne, she emphasizes the complexities of providing primary care to Indigenous peoples and their communities. Drawing on both Western and traditional paradigms, working with like-minded physicians across the country and with a focus on the effects of the environment and pollution on health, Dr. Horn promotes the inclusion and support of traditional knowledge and “ways of being” in a framework for providing holistic and primary care to her people.

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Rick Powless (Lakhwawˀyʌ^hu meaning “good cook”) is a citizen of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. He is a member of the Onʌyoteˀaká (Oneida Nation of the Thames, or “People of the Standing Stone”), Ohkwali (Bear Clan). He is a Red Seal Chef with over 35 years of industry experience. Chef Powless is a fourthyear PhD student in Education at York University, where his research focuses on food insecurity and the uneven economic disparities it creates. He is also focused on traditional Indigenous foods and food sources and their effects on our mental health.

He focuses on diet, health, the environment, and their relationships. In promoting traditional foodways, it becomes apparent that the social and physical environment plays a key role in nourishing our minds, bodies, and spirits.

Stephen Beckta is the President of the Beckta Restaurant Group, which includes Beckta, one of Canada’s premier fine dining restaurants, along with the critically acclaimed, upscale neighbourhood restaurant Gezellig, and Curated By Beckta, which offers custom-curated wine packages alongside fine dining meal kits and in-home catering. Most recently, Stephen was hired

by The Ottawa Hospital to develop an innovative food service program to enhance patient nutrition and experience, while positively impacting recovery times. Their 2025 trial at the General Campus won the Ontario Cancer Innovation award, and they plan to complete the transformation for the entire hospital in 2026, while finalizing the food service design for the new campus at Dow’s Lake, opening in the coming years.

Tiffany Kautz is Vice President, Client Services at Accreditation Canada. Since 2021, she has contributed to national and international efforts to support health organizations in their accreditation and quality improvement journeys. She also serves as an Accreditation Canada Surveyor. With a health care career spanning more than two decades, Tiffany has held leadership roles in executive hospital administration, nursing, and quality and patient safety. Her experience spans a wide range of clinical domains, where her work has consistently focused on advancing health service transformation and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. A Registered Nurse by training, Tiffany brings broad clinical experience to her leadership, spanning various care settings and patient populations. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master’s in Health Studies with a focus on Leadership. She is certified in quality and patient safety and holds additional credentials in change management.

Tiffany is passionate about enabling care excellence and is recognized for her ability to build trust and engagement through thoughtful dialogue and collaborative leadership.

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Trevor Hancock, Hon FFPH (UK) is a public health physician and a 'retired' Professor of Public Health at the University of Victoria.

The relationship between the environment and health has been a focus of Dr. Hancock’s career for 50 years. Thirty years ago, he was a co-founder of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and 25 years ago he co-founded the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care. Ten years ago, he led a Canadian Public Health Association working group that produced a seminal report on the ecological determinants of health. He is currently a leading member of the IUHPE's Global Working Group on Waiora Planetary Health and the Interim Convenor of an emerging Canadian health sector coalition, the Canadian Coalition for Planetary Health and a Wellbeing Society.

Zayna Khayat, Ph.D. is the Chief Program Officer at AMS Healthcare, where she leads the strategic design and delivery of the organization’s flagship programs in Artificial Intelligence & Compassion and the History of Healthcare. Zayna is also adjunct faculty in the Health Sector Strategy stream at the Rotman School of Management and serves as the in-house health futurist with Deloitte Canada’s Healthcare practice. Zayna earned her PhD in diabetes research from the University of Toronto. A recognized voice on health system transformation, she advises health technology companies across Canada and internationally.

She serves as board chair with Nourish.

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Nourish Awards The Nourish Awards celebrate leadership and honour both longstanding changemakers and emergent voices in food-health transformation. Awards are given in both individual and organizational categories.

Margaret Edgars Reconciliation Award In honour of Margaret Edgars, who passed into the Spirit World in summer 2023, Nourish created the Margaret Edgars Reconciliation Award. The award is presented to individuals or organizations advancing Indigenous foodways in community and health care settings. These actions include acknowledging the history, land, and water in ways that create positive, lasting impacts for future generations. This also includes what Margaret always kept front and centre in our conversations: the importance of “putting the love in food.”

Nourish Planetary Plate Award The Nourish Planetary Plate Award recognizes those advancing the health of people and planet through thoughtful, systemic leadership in organizational food practices.

Recipients demonstrate leadership in reducing the environmental impact of food in healthcare settings; advance climate-conscious food strategies that are culturally appropriate, nourishing, and rooted in equity and care; and, inspire change within and beyond their institution through education, collaboration, or innovation in planetary health.

Nourish Anchor Leadership Award The Nourish Anchor Leadershp Award recognizes bold leadership that harnesses the power of food to create resilient, equitable, and community-rooted health systems. Recipients of this award show courage and vision in making food a central strategy for health, economic justice, and community wellbeing. They leverage institutional influence, build authentic partnerships, and make bold policy and procurement choices to support regional economies, build food sovereignty, and strengthen local food ecosystems.

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We are so pleased to be able to recognize our 2026 individual and team award recipients, to be announced soon.

Above (L) Remembering Margaret Edgars.

Above (R) Michelle Stranges of St. Joseph’s Health Care London, recipient of the 2025 Nourish Anchor Leadership Award.

Below The Planetary Health Menu Project Team at Vancouver Coastal Health, recipient of the 2025 Nourish Planetary Plate Award.

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Fostering a deeper understanding of the complex relationships between Indigenous foodways, Truth and Reconciliation, healing, and health care.

Where are you on your reconciliation journey? As a nation, we are behind on our commitments. Deepen your personal and organizational journey to fulfill the TRC’s Calls to Action by signing up for 2026-27 Food is Our Medicine.

Food is Our Medicine empowers health care providers to harness the power of food as a pathway to Truth and Reconciliation. The program is a unique opportunity to explore the intersections of food, culture, and healthcare. You’ll learn how to incorporate Indigenous foodways and culturally mindful approaches into your practice, fostering better health outcomes for all.

Six Interactive Virtual Learning Circles: Shared space to unlearn, ask questions, and hear directly from Indigenous leaders in sessions guided by Nourish and members of the Indigenous and Allies Advisory.

Honour Indigenous Knowledge: Deepen your understanding of how to respect and uphold Indigenous traditions while contributing to the ongoing journey of Truth and Reconciliation.

Decolonize Health Care: Learn how to challenge systemic inequities and create a more equitable and just health care system.

Improve Outcomes: Increase your abilities to enhance nutrition, reduce illness, and support patient healing through the power of food.

Learn more at nourishleadership/programs/foodisourmedicine.

“Getting the opportunity to join Nourish’s Food is Our Medicine learning journey has been incredibly important and meaningful to me as a European settler and practicing dietitian in Canada. I feel the content is essential knowledge that all healthcare workers need, and I honestly wish it had been part of my formal education earlier. This truly didn't feel like joining an online course, but rather joining a community with the shared goal of learning, unlearning, and advancing reconciliation in health care.”

Alex Kamp, MAN, RD | Registered Dietitian, Gordon Food Service

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2026 Food for Health Symposium Program

October 7-8, 2026