Dairy MAX is committed to connecting agriculture, food, nutrition and health in order to elevate the work of our dairy farm families and make the topic of sustainable nutrition relevant and actionable. To do so, the Health and Wellness Team hosted a series of seven Nourish Dialogue Dinners across our eight-state region throughout 2019 – including dinners in Austin, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans and Denver. These dinners brought together practitioners and leaders representing diverse stakeholders in the food system—from those in the food supply chain (farmers, food manufacturers, food companies, agribusiness, retailers) to those in food environments (schools and universities, workplaces, hospitals, grocery stores, restaurants, food pantries) and those influencing consumer behavior (physicians, dietitians, fitness, culinary and food security and food security professionals).
Each attendee has an impact in their sphere of influence – whether specific to nutrition, health outcomes or agriculture. And each one has a unique and important perspective in the sustainable food systems discussion. But the reality is, most don’t see themselves as part of an interconnected and interdependent food system. These Nourish Dialogue Dinners offered a place to start the conversation. At each dinner, table moderators led the group through a series of questions over a meal, ultimately getting to a discussion about collaboration to have a greater impact on nutrition, health and sustainable food systems. At the conclusion of each dinner a glass is raised in gratitude to the dairy farmers responsible for providing wholesome, nutritious dairy foods.
National Dairy Council hosted the first Nourish Dialogue Dinner in the fall of 2018 at the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo in Washington, DC, with the belief that by working together regionally and locally, we can accelerate innovative solutions to produce nutritious foods and nutrition guidance that fosters the health of people, communities, animals and planet. Key learnings and perspectives from all of the dinner discussions around our region and across the country will be used to inform the sustainable nutrition discussion moving forward.
