From The Food Is Medicine Coalition Advisory Board
This is a time of growth and opportunity for the field of food and nutrition services. As such, I am delighted to share an important update.
As the collaborative work among medically tailored meal agencies across the country has taken root through the Food Is Medicine Coalition (FIMC), one of our funders, The Dohmen Company Foundation, has generously committed to helping FIMC create a future where medically tailored nutrition services are accessible to all Americans. Thanks to their award, the FIMC Advisory Board has engaged in a strategic planning process aimed at increasing the reach and impact of our work and has also recruited for a new Executive Director of FIMC to support our strategy and implementation work.
After a rigorous application process, I am thrilled to announce that Alissa Wassung, Senior Director of Policy & Planning at God’s Love We Deliver, has been chosen by the FIMC Advisory Board to become the first-ever Executive Director of FIMC.
Most of you know Alissa and have worked with her on any number of FIMC projects. By way of a more formal introduction, Alissa brings more than a decade of dedicated policy and strategy skills to this new role, as a Senior Director at God’s Love and as the Policy Committee Chair of FIMC, where she has helped to unite diverse constituencies to advance the field of medically tailored food and nutrition. Through education, briefings, national Symposia, technical assistance and, more recently, working to shepherd a national bill through Congress, she has already helped build nationwide awareness of the need for access to and funding for medically tailored meals at the federal level. In her other advisory roles in the field, she is known as a fierce advocate for clients, and as a practical implementer and compassionate colleague.
This is a truly dynamic time to be part of the Food Is Medicine Coalition. As essential service providers during the pandemic, our Coalition expanded our geographic footprint and services, welcomed 9 new MTM programs through the FIMC Accelerator, and supported the first-ever bill introduced in Congress expanding access to MTM (H.R. 5370), and now we have a historic opportunity on the horizon with the upcoming White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. The FIMC Executive Director will be essential to ensuring our Coalition remains at the center of the Food Is Medicine movement and that our programs remain best-in-class. I am beyond pleased that Alissa will bring her energy, compassion and dedication to this critical work.
Alissa starts as Executive Director of the Food is Medicine Coalition on August 22. Please join the FIMC Advisory Board in congratulating Alissa on her new leadership role.