

Nourishing Change Summit
Saturday, September 23, 2023
Cincinnati, Ohio
7-11 AM
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
Kroger Health’s Nourishing Change Summit will bring together leaders from multiple sectors to talk about Food as Medicine and how we can work together to drive positive change in our communities. Research shows what we eat can have an impact on our health. Food as Medicine takes an educated, dedicated, and personalized approach to food and nutrition, so we can live healthier lives and reduce the risk of chronic disease.
Kroger Health’s Nourishing Change Summit is the next iteration of the work that began at the 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. By collaborating with organizations across many disciplines in food, academia, retail and community healthcare, we can help to improve health outcomes for generations to come.

Please note, this is an invitation only event. If you’re in the area and would like to learn more about Kroger’s Food as Medicine initiative, please join us at the Kroger Wellness Festival, open to the public.

Agenda
Breakfast + Networking
Welcome & Introduction
Speaker
Colleen Lindholz
President, Kroger Health, The Kroger Co.
The Case for Food as Medicine
Join Dr. Kevin Volpp from AHA as he shares why Food as Medicine is crucial to the health and wellbeing of our communities, the evidence needed to transform public policy and healthcare delivery, and why now is the time to fully embrace this mindset.
Speaker
Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD
Distinguished Scientist, Scientific Lead, AHA Food is Medicine Initiative, Professor of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine & the Wharton School
Expanding Equitable Access to Nutritious Foods
The U.S. healthcare system is in dire need of a solution to improve access to nutritious foods and provide more equitable healthcare. This panel will discuss the effect of social determinants of health on access, quality, and cost of care, and how data, technology, and benefit design can improve nutrition security and health for Americans.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Moderator Denise Osterhues Senior Director, Sustainability & Social Impact, The Kroger Co. President, The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation |
Speaker Kofi Essel, MD, MPH, FAAP Food as Medicine Director, Elevance Health |
Speaker Rick Whitted Chief Executive Officer, U.S. Hunger |
Speaker Daryl Risinger Co-Founder, President, Soda Health |
Break
9:45AM – 10:10AM ET
Rapid Research Update: The Important Role of Retail Health in Clinical Research
Retail health organizations have played a unique role, providing a foundation for the advancement of clinical research on the impact of food on our health. This panel will discuss research outcomes and progress that has been made on connecting food and health.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Moderator Andrea Brookhart, PharmD Director, Population Health & Wellness, Kroger Health, The Kroger Co. |
Speaker Dylan Steen, MD Director of Clinical Trials and Population Health Research, Cardiologist, UC Health |
Speaker Jim Kirby, PharmD Chief Commercial Officer, Kroger Health, The Kroger Co. |
10:10AM – 10:55AM ET
Enriching Our Nutrition Environment
Enriching our environment to be more centered around nutrition and promoting healthier choices will involve several different facets. This panel will discuss each organization’s approach to creating more nutritious food, programs that inspire better health, and supply chain innovation to positively affect our food ecosystem.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Moderator Taylor Newman, PhD Director of Nutrition, Kroger Health, The Kroger Co. |
Speaker Leah Vanwoerkom Vice President, Marketing & Brand, 80 Acres |
Speaker Sarah Ludmer Senior Director of Wellbeing & Regulatory Affairs, Kellogg Company |
Speaker AJ Stiffelman Chief Marketing Officer, Real Good Foods |
Closing Remarks
![]() |
![]() |
Speaker Jim Kirby, PharmD Chief Commercial Officer, Kroger Health, The Kroger Co. |
Speaker Kate Meyer Vice President, Health & Beauty Care Merchandising, The Kroger Co. |
Agenda
Breakfast + Networking
Welcome & Introduction
Speaker
Colleen Lindholz
President, Kroger Health, The Kroger Co.
The Case for Food as Medicine
Join Dr. Kevin Volpp from AHA as he shares why Food as Medicine is crucial to the health and wellbeing of our communities, the evidence needed to transform public policy and healthcare delivery, and why now is the time to fully embrace this mindset.
Speaker
Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD
Distinguished Scientist, Scientific Lead, AHA Food is Medicine Initiative, Professor of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine & the Wharton School
Expanding Equitable Access to Nutritious Foods
The U.S. healthcare system is in dire need of a solution to improve access to nutritious foods and provide more equitable healthcare. This panel will discuss the effect of social determinants of health on access, quality, and cost of care, and how data, technology, and benefit design can improve nutrition security and health for Americans.
Moderator
Denise Osterhues
Senior Director, Sustainability & Social Impact, The Kroger Co.
President, The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation
Speaker
Kofi Essel, MD, MPH, FAAP
Food as Medicine Director, ElevanceHealth
Speaker
Rick Whitted
Chief Executive Officer, U.S. Hunger
Speaker
Daryl Risinger
Co-Founder, President, Soda Health
Break
9:45AM – 10:10AM ET
Rapid Research Update: The Important Role of Retail Health in Clinical Research
Retail health organizations have played a unique role, providing a foundation for the advancement of clinical research on the impact of food on our health. This panel will discuss research outcomes and progress that has been made on connecting food and health.
Moderator
Andrea Brookhart, PharmD
Director, Population Health & Wellness, Kroger Health, The Kroger Co.
Speaker
Dylan Steen, MD
Director of Clinical Trials and Population Health Research, Cardiologist, UC Health
Speaker
Jim Kirby, PharmD
Chief Commercial Officer, Kroger Health, The Kroger Co.
10:10AM – 10:55AM ET
Enriching Our Nutrition Environment
Enriching our environment to be more centered around nutrition and promoting healthier choices will involve several different facets. This panel will discuss each organization’s approach to creating more nutritious food, programs that inspire better health, and supply chain innovation to positively affect our food ecosystem.
Moderator
Taylor Newman, PhD
Director of Nutrition, Kroger Health, The Kroger Co.
Speaker
Leah Vanwoerkom
Vice President Marketing & Brand, 80 Acres
Speaker
Sarah Ludmer
Senior Director of Wellbeing & Regulatory Affairs, Kellogg Company
Speaker
AJ Stiffelman
Chief Marketing Officer, Real Good Foods
Closing Remarks
Speaker
Jim Kirby, PharmD
Chief Commercial Officer, Kroger Health, The Kroger Co.
Speaker
Kate Meyer
Vice President, Health & Beauty Care Merchandising, The Kroger Co.
Kroger Health, the healthcare division of The Kroger Company, is a leading voice in retail and community healthcare, promoting healthy food as an important part of the solution to America’s chronic disease epidemic. Our contributions include developing a food rating system to simplify nutrition information, increasing access to dietitians through telenutrition, and increasing access to fresh, affordable food for everyone.


Stay for the fun!
This event will take place in conjunction with our annual Kroger Wellness Festival, which opens Friday 9/22 and continues through Saturday evening. For more information, visit here.
GROUP FITNESS • COOKING DEMOS • MUSIC • SPEAKER PANELS • ENTERTAINMENT FOR ALL AGES


© 2023 Kroger Health | Privacy Policy