BUILDING HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES: ADVANCING FOOD & HEALTH SOLUTIONS THROUGH EDUCATION, PARTNERSHIP & ACTION
DATE: September 24th, 2026
9:00 AM
New Jersey.
Why Attend?
The FoodNiche Health Forum is a powerful gathering that convenes changemakers, nonprofit leaders, healthcare professionals, researchers, policymakers, corporate partners, and community advocates to explore how food and nutrition can be leveraged to improve health outcomes and strengthen communities. At this crucial time, when research shows that more than 50% of adults in America struggle with preventable chronic diseases related to poor eating patterns, the need is stronger than ever for community leaders to initiate grassroots efforts to tackle this problem. Thought-leaders will share strategies to tackle this problem through strategic community action and initiatives. From groundbreaking research to scalable community initiatives, attendees will explore impactful solutions to transform community health.
Highlights
Advance Your Impact Through Collaboration.
Engage with interdisciplinary leaders working at the intersection of food and health. Build partnerships with community organizations, healthcare systems, policymakers, and funders to expand the reach, sustainability, and real-world impact of your initiatives, research, programs, and scholarly initiatives.
Bridge the Gap Between Evidence and Practice.
Gain insights from researchers, practitioners, and community leaders implementing food and nutrition interventions in diverse settings. Examine what works, what challenges persist, and where critical gaps remain to inform future research, policy, teaching, and community-engaged practice.
2026 Speakers
Elizabeth McCarthy
Jenny Schrum PhD
Erica Park MD MPH
Tara Colton
Jane Asselta
Bunmi Olayanju MBA, CFA
Brian Todd
Julia Olayanju PhD, MPH
Lauren Abda
Kalindi Bakshi PhD
Ty Blitstein
Marc Washington
Joan Salge Blake EdD
Leena Nabzdyk PhD
Bunmi Olayanju MBA CFA
Anabelle Broadbent PhD
Marc Oshima
Samantha Citro Alexander
Elizabeth Machnica
Phil Strandwitz PhD
Expand Community Impact.
01
Advance Your Impact Through Collaboration
Engage with interdisciplinary leaders working at the intersection of food, health, education, and community development.
02
Discover Innovative Solutions Transforming Communities
Learn from organizations advancing health through food-as-medicine programs, nutrition education initiatives, community partnerships, and preventive health strategies. Explore scalable models that can be adapted to your own community or organization.
03
Connect with Leaders Driving Change
Build relationships with decision-makers, funders, healthcare leaders, researchers, educators, and nonprofit executives who share a commitment to improving community health. Expand your network and uncover new opportunities for collaboration and impact.
04
Turn Ideas into Action
Leave with practical strategies, new partnerships, and actionable insights that can help strengthen programs, inform policy, support research, and advance healthier communities long after the forum concludes.
What Past Attendees Are Saying:
“This was a well-run event and more importantly, it brought to the table all stakeholders – convening power of food. I made some great connections with some companies in the meeting and I will follow up with them.“
Phil Demokritou, PhD
Head of Environmental Bioengineering,
Rutgers University
Skillfully created and excellently hosted. A fantastic event! The investment panel at the FoodNiche Summit is the most informative panel session I have ever listened to."
Shou Wong, PhD
Chief Innovation Officer, TurtleTree
Out of all the conferences I go to, I appreciate the FoodNiche Summit most because of the diversity of perspectives it brought together. There were representatives from across the food system - this kind of collaboration is key to solving the challenges of feeding the world sustainably."
Scott Landers
Co-Founder & CEO, Figure8
Frequently asked questios
Is This A Virtual Event?
This summit will take place in person in New Jersey. All registrants will recieve specific location details upon registration
Are there group discount for teams?
Yes, there are group discounts for teams, please contact Joshua at [email protected] for details.
How can companies exhibit or reserve a table at this event?
Yes, kindly email [email protected]
