National Leaders to Convene in Vancouver to Align Health, Food, and Climate Action
Media Spotlight
Nourish
Climate Leadership
Health Care Innovation
Sustainable Food and Menus
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 2, 2026
Vancouver, B.C. — This fall, health system leaders, policymakers, clinicians, and food system innovators will gather in Vancouver for the Nourish 2026 Symposium: Who Health Care Feeds. Taking place on October 7 and 8, the event is hosted by Nourish Leadership and co-hosted by Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH).
The two-day symposium will take place as a series of immersive workshops and conference style sessions at locations throughout Vancouver, including UBC Robson Square and Vancouver General Hospital. Symposium 2026 will focus on how planetary health can translate into hospital menus and how those menus, in turn, support the future of health in Canada.
“At Nourish, we see hospitals and schools who want to buy more local, regional, and Indigenous food. Small and mid-size farmers want access to stable institutional markets. Yet between them lies a gap that has been largely invisible and under-resourced for far too long: the missing middle. This includes the processors, aggregators, storage facilities, and regional infrastructure that connect producers to large organizations,” said Hayley Lapalme, Executive Director, Nourish Leadership. “We are excited to welcome symposium participants to share experience and knowledge, foster connections, and explore future opportunities to align and advance our commitment to the way food is served in health care settings.”
The symposium builds on Nourish’s national 100 Million Better Bites initiative, which aims to transform hospital food across Canada by 2030 through shifts toward plant-forward, culturally meaningful, and sustainably sourced meals. Canadian hospitals serve more than 100 million meals each year. Those meals represent not just care delivery and health outcomes, but a powerful mechanism for climate action.
As part of a five-year planetary health strategy, VCH is focusing on several key areas of action, including food and nutrition. To date, VCH has rolled out Planetary Health menus at three of the health authority’s largest hospitals and recently launched a farm-to-hospital program in coastal communities – initiatives that promote wellness, belonging, and environmental sustainability.
“VCH promotes healthy lives in healthy communities and is guided by our values and pillars, which includes caring for everyone and the environment,” said Darcia Pope, Vice-President, Strategy, Innovation and Planetary Health at Vancouver Coastal Health. “Close collaboration with Nourish has been incredibly valuable for Vancouver Coastal Health teams working to transform the health care food system. We’re excited to share more about our experience and learnings with symposium participants.”
A Cross-Sector Table for System Change
The Symposium invites the following collaborators:
- Health system executives and food service leaders;
- Clinicians advancing food as medicine;
- Indigenous leaders, Knowledge Keepers, and community members advancing food sovereignty, health, and well-being;
- Policymakers across health, agriculture, and environment;
- Farmers, food hubs, and processors building regional supply chains;
- Environmental health officers and food inspectors; and
- Philanthropists, hospital foundations, and investors.
Participants will leave with practical tools, relationships, and a clear pathway to implementation within their own organizations, including:
- New cross-sector partnerships to scale progress toward 100 Million Better Bites and deploy the $4B annual food service spending of Canadian hospitals;
- Increased investment in regional food infrastructure and farm to hospital pathways;
- Greater alignment between health, policy, procurement, and producers / suppliers; and
- National coordination and participation in the Nourish Commons and 100 Million Better Bites.
Registration
Symposium 2026 registration is open now. Early bird pricing is in effect until July 31, 2026.
About the Co-Hosts
Nourish Leadership is a national organization working to transform health care food systems in Canada, advancing food as a lever for human and planetary health through initiatives such as the Nourish Commons and 100 Million Better Bites.
Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) is committed to delivering exceptional care to 1.25 million people, including the First Nations, Métis and Inuit, within the traditional territories of the Heiltsuk, Kitasoo-Xai’xais, Lil’wat, Musqueam, N’Quatqua, Nuxalk, Samahquam, shíshálh, Skatin, Squamish, Tla’amin, Tsleil-Waututh, Wuikinuxv, and Xa’xtsa.
Media Contacts
Nourish Leadership
info@nourishleadership.ca
Vancouver Coastal Health
media@vch.ca | 604.202.2012 (after-hours)