Food As Medicine Symposium

BNMC’s First Annual Food As Medicine Symposium will provide a space to learn, collaborate and grow adoption of Food As Medicine interventions among local healthcare systems as well as learn from and add to the national movement. This virtual and free event will take place on Saturday, October 16th from 8:30a to 4:30p.

The symposium aims to further expand and catalyze the adoption of Food as Medicine programs in the immediate WNY community. National speakers will highlight the three decades of research, policy, and advocacy efforts in building federal support for these highly effective programs. Sessions will feature national and local panelists discussing the importance of clinical-community partnerships, the success of existing programs, the transformation of the current medical school curriculum, and why food equity must be built into these programs. An interactive Farm to Fork cooking demonstration will be featured.

Joint keynote: The Critical Role of Research and Advocacy: From Practice to Policy will feature David Waters, CEO at Community Servings in Boston, Massachusetts, and Karen Pearl, President, and CEO at God’s Love We Deliver in New York City. From delivering thousands of Medically Tailored Meals to publishing research to advocating for policy changes at the state and federal level, David and Karen are driving support for the national Food as Medicine movement. They were part of a group of activists who founded the Food Is Medicine Coalition, an association of nonprofit medically tailored food and nutrition service providers focusing efforts on policy, research, and capacity building nationwide. For more information, and to register, click here.