(1/5) I've watched too many promising food programs fail because funders treated them like charity instead of infrastructure. The new Food is Medicine Community Action Plan shows how that conversation is changing.

Margery: "Sardines are disgusting. I don't know how anybody can get near them." I stand by my answer, "You are SO WRONG about sardines. They're the best tinned fish, packed with calcium, and I eat them for lunch EVERY DAY." Listen: https://ow.ly/HFC350Ym5IY #BostonPublicRadio #FoodFight

"Food needs to be at the grassroots. Food needs to stop being the problem. It's the environment. It's the economy. It's health." —José Andrés

Open Access launched to give food entrepreneurs what should have always existed: a free, clear, centralized guide to starting and growing a business in in cities like NYC. We got more, check out: AspenFood.org We're proud it's part of Food & Society at the Aspen Institute's work . #small business

A delightful walk down memory lane and pointing to the road ahead for @aspenfood.bsky.social , our Food Leaders Fellows, and Food is Medicine initiative. Full interview here: aspenfood.org/2026/02/23/f... #Leadership #CareerPivot #FoodPolicy

I'll go on the record that restaurant seating should be a standard restaurant critic criterion—right up there with food quality and noise levels. Requirements: high, solid seat and good back support. Enjoy my latest conversation on Boston Public Radio: aspenfood.org/2026/02/25/t...

What does it actually take to scale Food is Medicine at the community level? Read about the new Food is Medicine Community Action Plan from Food & Society at the Aspen Institute in Food Tank. More: https://ow.ly/Ixbo50Ykluq

Food is Medicine Community Action Plan Highlight: DC Greens They're not just addressing food access—they're rebuilding the entire food system in Washington, D.C. to be just and resilient. Read the case study: https://www.fimcommunity.org/cases/dc-greens #FoodIsMedicine

“'If you have a crop disease suddenly appear in one part of the world, everybody, including us, relies on CIMMYT to catch that early and to help working on remedies,' Mr. Berninger said." @tedalcorn.bsky.social on cut USAID ag research $ that leaves China to dominate: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/s...

What happens when a hospital integrates a food pantry AND teaching kitchen into patient care? The MGH Revere Food Pantry shows us in our Community Action Plan. More: https://www.fimcommunity.org/cases/mgh-revere-food-pantry #FoodIsMedicine #CommunityHealth #CaseStudies

Public Health Solutions in has developed a model for delivering Food is Medicine interventions in diverse communities. Their approach centers on: -Understanding community needs -Building partnerships -Measuring what matters More: https://www.fimcommunity.org/cases/public-health-solutions

Your Organization's Story Belongs in Food & Society at the Aspen Institute's Community Action Plan! We want YOUR story. Submission is simple: www.fimcommunity.org/about #FoodIsMedicine #CommunityHealth #CaseStudies

Fascinating irony in the delivery economy: drivers report people in subsidized housing tip better and treat them more kindly than wealthy customers. Meanwhile, some are going into debt for convenience! What's the real cost? 🎧 https://aspenfood.org/2026/02/04/the-golden-age-of-condiments/

Introducing Food & Society at the Aspen Institute's Food is Medicine Community Action Plan! Spotlighting 14 orgs transforming health through food. Today: About Fresh uses tech to deliver fresh, culturally appropriate food with dignity. Learn more: https://www.fimcommunity.org/cases/about-fresh

GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic are changing eating habits—users crave fresh produce over processed foods. With 12% of Americans on these meds, how do we support lasting change? Watch the conversation on Boston Public Radio: https://aspenfood.org/2026/02/04/the-golden-age-of-condiments/ #FoodPolicy #GLP1

Before you write off a piece defending industrial food, look at the concluding recommendations, all of which are sensible and some of which the current administration might both endorse (not all! they lead with eating less red meat) and think how to implement. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/08/o...

Food & Society at the Aspen Institute's third cohort of Food Leaders Fellows visited some beautiful people in DC. Thank you The Green Scheme, Hustlaz 2 Harvesters and Dreaming Out Loud for welcoming us and sharing your work. We felt the love.

Yesterday on Boston Public Radio I revealed what I eat for lunch every day: sardines. Turn on the volume for Jim and Margery's reactions! But listen to the segment for my recipe and more: https://ow.ly/CREu50Y8ZOH #foodnews Food & Society at the Aspen Institute

We're in the golden age of condiments! Now live on Boston Public Radio: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk1X...

Cathryn Couch, Executive Director of @CeresCommunityProject, shares what's at stake and why funders should prioritize local community-based organizations. Watch: https://vimeo.com/1157721565?fl=pl&fe=sh#t=23m7s#t=23m7s

"When you pair dignity with logistics, you don't just feed people. You improve health outcomes, shift spending, and create pathways to long-term well-being." Dion Dawson of Dion's Chicago Dream and Food Leaders Fellow Watch our launch webinar: https://vimeo.com/1157721565?fl=pl&fe=sh#t=31m9s

I encourage anyone working at the intersection of health, food access, and community resilience to watch @aspenfood.bsky.social Food is Medicine Community Action Plan launch: aspenfood.org/fim

Thank you to everyone who joined today's launch! 🎉 Explore the Community Action Plan portal now: www.FIMCommunity.org Missed it? The recording will be available soon. Join our newsletter: AspenFood.org #FoodIsMedicine

📍 We're LIVE! Hearing from incredible community leaders transforming health through food. Not too late to join: https://ow.ly/b1FT50XXmex

🎬 STARTING IN 1 HOUR! 🎬 Grab your coffee and join us for the Food is Medicine Community Action Plan launch. Last-minute registration welcome: https://ow.ly/b1FT50XXmex

TODAY! At 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT Food & Society at the Aspen Institute launches the Food is Medicine Community Action Plan. Join us to hear from Dion's Chicago Dream, Ceres Community Project, and Community Servings. Register: https://ow.ly/UkMp50XXmew #FoodIsMedicine #CommunityHealth

Jan 22: Real community leaders. Real strategies. Real impact. Join our Food is Medicine Community Action Plan webinar launch! Meet Dion's Chicago Dream | Community Servings | Ceres Community Project Register: https://ow.ly/E82I50XXlec #FoodIsMedicine

Thrilled that I got to tell Pete Wells what to eat for @nytimes.com. Of course I didn’t tell him what to eat. A question of surrounding yourself with stuff you like and think is good for you.

Honored to contribute to Pete Wells' series on home cooking and health. Changing your food environment is the first and most important change you can make for yourself. Read his story in The New York Times: https://cooking.nytimes.com/article/pete-wells-kitchen-health-cooking

Zeke Emanuel's book party for Eat Your Ice Cream at Dolcezza. His new book distills rigorous science into common-sense wellness advice. His key insight? Social engagement for living better & longer. Watch us on Boston Public Radio: https://ow.ly/l7sO50XVHn3

The youngest member of our adopted Atlanta family, John Henry Collins, was formally made an Eagle Scout at the Court of Honor this afternoon, like his twin uncles--the closest by far I ever came to the Scouts. Their and their families' dedication to service and each other was moving and remarkable.

"Today, I am about 55 pounds lighter than I was at my zenith, a loss roughly equivalent to dropping an entire male basset hound." The start of Pete Wells's new series on changing his diet is delightfully written, as usual, and all thoughtful common sense. cooking.nytimes.com/article/our-...

The good in today's new Dietary Guidelines: reducing "highly processed" foods, term that seems fine since there's no agreed-on definition of ultra-processed foods: “clear, straightforward, supported by science," says @marionnestle.bsky.social. www.statnews.com/2026/01/07/d...

I never know where the conversation will go on #BostonPublicRadio! talking food trends and policy—and somehow spent half the segment on celtuce, a vegetable so magnificently ugly I've never actually seen one in real life. Hope you take a moment to listen!

New year, same mission: fix the food system. But 2026 feels different—have momentum, partnerships, and a community of fellows who are actually making things happen. Grateful to be part of this work. Here's to building more longer tables.

@ChefJoseAndres gets it: the next generation of food leaders needs support NOW. His Longer Tables Fund just made our fellowship exponentially more powerful. Grateful doesn't begin to cover it. Let's build those longer tables. 🙏 https://vimeo.com/1119870410

There will be a quiz at the end! Always fun with Margery & Jim on @BosPublicRadio. More: https://aspenfood.org/2025/12/23/may-your-panettone-be-light/

May your panettone be light! @ckummer.bsky.social reveals the wonders of this holiday bread with Margery & Jim on Boston Public Radio. More: aspenfood.org/2025/12/23/m...

Spent the year in rooms with people who actually DO Food is Medicine work—not just talk about it. The insights? Game-changing. The energy? Infectious. The future? Bright.

My piece on panettone and pandoro in @theatlantic.com, in which I call pandoro a "star-shaped golden mountain of rich, buttery bread without raisins or candied fruit and with a finer, denser crumb than panettone’s." www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

When you bring together three cohorts of @aspenfood.bsky.social Food Leaders Fellows to one room, connections become friendships, ideas become collaborations. I can only imagine what will happen at next year's reunion of FOUR cohorts!

2025 Recap: 18 brilliant food leaders finished their fellowship journey Food & Society at the Aspen Institute They started as impressive individuals. They left as a force!

Can give us all hope.

@ckummer.bsky.social discusses a recent @nytimes.com story on decaf, and his research writing The Joy of Coffee. Final word: Give those beans a chance—your sleep schedule might thank you! Listen: aspenfood.org/2025/12/08/2... #DecafDoneRight #CoffeeCulture

Friend and colleague @healthcareactually.bsky.social (read her Substack) found this staring at her in the meat case of @wholefoods, thanks to Bobby Flay. If I'm anyplace, want to say I love it!

🚨 FINAL DAY: Food Leaders Fellowship applications close at MIDNIGHT Pacific Time If you're an emerging food system leader ready to think bigger, this is your last chance to join our fifth cohort. Apply now: aspenfoodleaders.org #FoodLeaders #ApplicationDeadline

Our Food Leaders fellows come from everywhere: Corporate sustainability managers, nonprofit directors, farmers, policy experts, entrepreneurs. What unites them? A commitment to food system transformation. Applications to our 2026 cohort will close on December 5th. More: aspenfoodleaders.org

RESTAURANT EMPIRE RISES & FALLS Drew Nieporent's memoir "I'm Not Trying to Be Difficult" tells the story of the restaurateur who built 45+ restaurants including Tribeca Grill and Nobu with Robert De Niro. I talkws about the recent @nytimes.com review and the memoir on #bostonpublicradio

Terrific turnout at festive celebration of Institute of Culinary Education's 50th anniversary, with Food & Society at the Aspen Institute's Leadership Council member Rick Smilow and Anna Smilow presiding, and fellow Leadership Council member Andy Pforzheimer and Food Leaders Fellow Anne E. McBride.

In print! Yes, @nytimes.com still publishes in print. Me on Drew Nieporent and the peaks and valleys of running restaurants--and how profoundly that world has changed since he was changing ideas of exciting, reasonably priced bars at Tribeca Grill and sushi at Nobu. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/b...