Association of Nutrition Services Agencies

Overview | Conference Updates | Photos | Agenda | Pre-Conference Institute

Mapping the World of Nutrition – A Special Pre-Conference Institute

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Sponsored by MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger

Moderated by Eric Schockman
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger

Co-convened by ANSA, the Congressional Hunger Center, and the National Nutrition Collaborative

Background

In August of 2005, ANSA hosted a special institute “The Power of Collaboration” in Washington DC. Many national organizations, with food and nutrition as a core issue, came together for the first time to explore common ground and discuss potential areas of collaboration. Sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, this meeting was co-convened by ANSA, Meals on Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) and National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs (NANASP). Also participating were representatives from AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Altria Group Inc., American Dietetic Association, America’s Second Harvest, Campus Kitchens, Congressional Hunger Center, DC Central Kitchen, Harrah’s, MAC AIDS Fund, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, The UPS Foundation and leading providers of community-based nutrition services.

Some of the significant outcomes from that meeting include:

“The Power of Nutrition”, a white paper and advocacy tool exploring the health and economic benefits of community-based nutrition programs for people with diabetes and HIV/AIDS;
The formation of the National Nutrition Collaborative;
The “Food as Medicine” Campaign, funded by The UPS Foundation, a two-year collaborative project between ANSA, CHC, Food Research and Action Center and several ANSA agencies;
“Food as Medicine” forum sponsored the House Hunger Caucus;
Tour of ANSA member agency by House Hunger Caucus;
Collaborative advocacy efforts on the Older Americans Act, Ryan White CARE Act and Farm Bill; and
“Victory Against Hunger Awards” focused on medically appropriate nutrition services.

Most important, however, was a growing consensus that the field of nutrition is larger and more complex than previously understood; that the separate silos of AIDS nutrition, senior nutrition, child nutrition, food banks, anti-hunger initiatives, nutrition research, etc. actually overlap and that each occupies an essential place in a continuum of nutrition care for vulnerable people everywhere.

Mapping the World of Nutrition

At the heart of this institute is the idea that, while we may operate with some success within our separate silos, there are social issues of epidemic proportions related to, and positively impacted by, nutrition, such as diabetes, obesity, HIV/AIDS, a burgeoning elder population, sky-rocketing healthcare costs and increasing poverty that can best be addressed in partnership with others.

The first step in working together effectively is to understand where we stand in relation to each other, what issues divide us and what issues give us common ground.
Developed by Emerson Hunger Fellow Megan Lent, “Mapping the World of Nutrition” is a new ANSA project that outlines all the major sources of federal funding for nutrition programs, and the Congressional committees and federal agencies charged with their authority and oversight. It identifies the national, state and local stakeholders for each funding stream and, ultimately, identifies those individuals who receive services and benefits.

As an institute, “Mapping the World of Nutrition” is an opportunity for everyone involved in the field of nutrition to explore the interconnectedness of the services we provide and the people we serve. Our common denominator has always been food and our strength has always been in the simple but compelling message that food is the most basic of human needs. Building on this common denominator we have an opportunity to collectively assess our common concerns. To that end we propose the following objectives:

Objectives

Convene a meeting of leading national organizations concerned about the nutrition landscape.
Explore the intersections of the various networks represented.
Identify the major challenges in the field.
Assess the potential for developing collaborative strategies that position our sector as proactive, effective and solutions-based.
Identify additional ways that we might collaborate on a national level for the benefit of all and elevate a fractured consciousness into a common understanding that everyone’s best interest is served by partnership, collaboration and a united voice.

Please join us for this groundbreaking opportunity!