Let’s Go To Capitol Hill To Create Action On Food Is Medicine!

Danielle Nierenberg

Danielle Nierenberg

Next week, on Tuesday, May 20, Food Tank and our partners at the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University are heading to Capitol Hill for a special luncheon event, “Improving Health While Managing Healthcare Spending: Enter Food is Medicine." And we hope you’ll come with us, from wherever you live.

Food has incredible power to help us address complex challenges and build consensus—especially when we consider how topics like food is medicine can be a transformative strategy for both better community well-being and smarter healthcare policy. This is exactly what we’ll be talking about next week, as legislators and advocates from a variety of perspectives and across political parties come together to break out of our silos and find common ground to reach these shared goals!

Please join us from 11:30AM - 1:30PM ET on Tuesday, May 20, for action-focused dialogues that are truly bipartisan. CLICK HERE for more information on joining us, either in-person at the Capitol Visitors Center, Room HVC-200, in Washington, D.C., or via livestream from wherever you live.

Our incredible list of confirmed speakers includes: U.S. Members of Congress Vern Buchanan, Buddy Carter, Robin Kelly, Greg Murphy, and Chellie Pingree, plus Laura Carroll, FDA Human Foods Program; Dion Dawson, Dion's Chicago Dream; Kofi Essel, Elevance Health; Erika Hanson, Harvard Law School; Hollie Harris, Appalachian Regional Healthcare; Herman Johnson, U.S. Army Veteran and Food is Medicine Program Participant; Erin Martin, FreshRx Oklahoma; Crystal McGaffee, Appalachian Regional Healthcare; Dariush Mozaffarian, Food is Medicine Institute; Evan Sarris, Kroger Health; Pam Schwartz, Kaiser Permanente; Dana Thomas, The Rockefeller Foundation; and more to be announced!

Put simply: This is how change happens.

By showing up to events like this, whether in-person or virtually, you’re doing more than listening: You’re demonstrating to our elected officials and civic leaders that, when they focus on topics we care about, like food and food is medicine, we’re engaged. When they actually participate in dialogues that break down barriers, we show up and applaud democracy in action. When leaders recognize the power of food as medicine to help improve and maintain our good health—that food and well-being are more powerful than politicization—we’ll make our voices heard in meaningful ways, too.

So let this be an antidote to feelings of hopelessness and helplessness! Yes, the world we live in can be difficult and messy—but it’s up to us to make it better. So join us next week, and, when it comes to food is medicine, let’s actually get down to the nitty-gritty of how we can make change in the world we live in. 

Again, click HERE to find all the info you need about attending in person in D.C. or via livestream. See you then!

(Danielle Nierenberg is the President of Food Tank and can be reached at danielle@foodtank.com)