Conclusion

Summit 2019

PHA’s 2019 Accelerating a Healthier Future Summit, held in Chicago, IL, was the very first to occur outside of our homebase of Washington, DC. The event convened PHA partners, experts in nutrition and health, and stakeholders in creating a healthier world for all Americans. With more opportunities for networking and hands-on learning – two of the most popular reasons for why people attend the Summit – this year’s conference brought together people from distinct industries with the common goal of changing the status quo around health.

2019 Summit photo of stage

As the CEO of EAT, a global platform for transforming the food system, Dr. Sandro Demaio spoke about the recently-published EAT-Lancet Commission’s report on how to eat well for people and the planet.

Ibtihaj Muhammad, a fencer and the first Muslim American woman to wear a hijab while competing for the U.S. in the Olympics, took the stage with Olympic Gold Medalist Benita Fitzgerald Mosley. These world-class athletes discussed the importance of physical activity for people of all ages. Because PHA is committed to proverbially and literally walking the walk, professional tennis player Ana Ivanovic even led the audience in a physical activity break to demonstrate the positive effects of movement.

Speakers from Panera Bread, Lyft, and the Hudson Institute, among many others, led sessions on the current state of food, nutrition, and health in America, as well as where they see the future going.

New and repeat commitments announced at the 2019 Summit were:

  • Harbor Wholesale Foods
  • Kwik Trip
  • Produce Marketing Association (PMA) & National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS)
  • Sprout Foods
  • YMCA of the USA
  • Healthier Campus Initiative (HCI) Partners:
    • Dillard University
    • Illinois State University
    • Madison Area Technical College
    • Mary Baldwin University
    • Marymount University
    • Shaw University
    • University of Utah
    • University of Florida
  • Healthy Hunger Relief Partners:
    • Blue Ridge Area Food Bank
    • Central California Food Bank
    • Feeding South Florida
    • Food Bank of the Southern Tier
    • Galveston County Food Bank
    • Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine
    • Greater Chicago Food Depository
    • Philabundance

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