2023 Menus of Change

General Session VIII: Closing Keynote, Food is Care: Northwell Health’s Food Transformation Journey Valuing food as a tenet of health and well-being, Northwell Health, New York’s largest healthcare system, has been transforming its hospital food program, making large-scale improvements to deliver healthy, nutritious, and delicious restaurant-quality meals. This monumental effort, which affects more than 10 million meals annually across the organization, was inspired by patient and consumer feedback—and by focusing on leadership, talent, structure, process, accountability, and procurement, Northwell has improved patient experience performance for the measure “Quality of Food” by 74 percentile rank points within five years with minimal impact on budgetary cost. There’s no better way to close out this year’s Menus of Change summit than sharing this inspirational case study that will leave you feeling hopeful and more prepared to take on big changes within your organization. • Michael Kauf

General Session VII: Building Consensus: How to Create Buy-In at Every Level for Plant-Forward Culinary Training and Professional Development Meeting the growing demand for more nutritious, sustainable, inclusive, and above all, delicious meals requires a significant shift in culinary skills training for cooks and chefs at every level of an organization. From educational offerings at the CIA such as the Menus of Change Kitchen, teaching gardens, and related coursework at the undergraduate and graduate levels to the Plant-Forward Kitchen Training and Certification initiative for industry professionals, the CIA continues to innovate around transformative learning experiences that prepare future food leaders for our changing world. In this session, you’ll hear from key CIA leadership responsible for developing and driving these training initiatives in addition to two different industry perspectives from the corporate (i.e., Google) and nonprofit (i.e., Lenox Hill Neighborhood House) secto

General Session VI: Beyond the Balance Sheet: Investing in the Future of our Food System Advancing food systems that sustain the health of people, the planet, and whole economies requires identifying and scaling financial mechanisms, business models, and technological innovations that optimize and accelerate the pace of change. Understanding trends in financial markets and investment patterns can help chefs and operators have a seat at the table in shaping the future of their businesses and driving industry transformation. In this session, you’ll hear insights from two business executives: one implementing a unique restaurant model that fights for food justice by making fresh, nutritious food accessible and affordable and by fostering economic empowerment among entrepreneurs from marginalized communities, and one who invests directly in early-stage food and agriculture companies developing innovations to change how we grow, produce, and distribute food. • Michael Kaufman (Senior Lectur

Welcome and Introduction to the Day • Cathy Jörin, MBA (Senior Director, School of Graduate and Professional Studies, CIA) General Session IV: Tackling Climate Change Through Food: Global Trends and Call to Action From new green claims legislation in Europe to a “Big Food” policy in China, a lot is happening around the globe to promote healthy and sustainable diets and reduce food-related emissions. But we’re not yet on track to meet critical climate targets. Hear what World Resources Institute’s (WRI) Coolfood initiative has learned over the past four years of working with restaurants, hospitals, cities, and companies to create a movement for delicious climate action. Anne Bordier, director of sustainable diets at WRI will share what global trends to watch and how Coolfood is working with the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative, CIA, and other partners—and what opportunities there are for you to get involved. • Anne Bordier (Director of Sustainable Diets, World Resources

General Session III: Tapping into Consumer Insights: Building Demand for Plant-Forward and Aquatic Foods Market research and menu trends continue to affirm strong consumer interest in plant-based foods and products with enhanced functional health benefits and lower environmental footprint, but many nuances exist in understanding what consumers across generations are craving and how brands and foodservice operations can satisfy those desires. In this session, you’ll hear hot-off-the-press consumer sentiments from the 2023 edition of Datassential’s Plant-Forward Opportunity Report, produced annually in collaboration with CIA, Food for Climate League, and the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative. Following an overview of these macro-level consumer and industry trends, you’ll then learn more about the enormous opportunity to position and promote sustainable and nutritious aquatic foods, namely bivalves and sea vegetables, as part of your plant-forward menu strategy. Through si

Welcome and Opening Remarks • Allison Righter, MSPH, RDN (Director of Health and Sustainability Programs, Strategic Initiatives Group, CIA) • Rupa Bhattacharya (Executive Director, Strategic Initiatives and Industry Leadership, CIA) • Walter Willett, MD, DrPH (Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health) General Session I: A Global Perspective: Pathways to Achieving Healthy, Sustainable, and Equitable Food Systems The relationship between food systems, public health, and climate change continues to gain prominence on the global agenda with increasingly stronger calls to action in advancing the vision of a more equitable and sustainable food future. This opening general session, moderated by Danielle Nierenberg, world-renowned expert and advocate on all issues relating to our food system and agriculture, will share the landscape of scientific, political, social, and operational forces at play driving change and shaping business challenges and oppor