General Session 5 - Strategies for Securing Support and Funding for Your Teaching Kitchen & Related Programming

1.75 CPEU approved for RDs/DTRs who watch the recording, valid through June 2026.

Securing financial support and resources for teaching kitchens can be a challenging but crucial endeavor. This session will provide a comprehensive overview of strategies to maximize existing funding streams and explore new opportunities. Learn about reallocating funds, utilizing existing organizational budgets, and tapping into diverse funding sources such as philanthropy, grants, fee-for-service models, sponsorships, and medical billing and reimbursements. Additionally, the session will cover how to enhance your teaching kitchen’s visibility through targeted media and marketing efforts. Featuring expert presentations, case studies, and practical insights from leaders in the field, this session will help you tackle the key question: “Great idea, but how are we going to pay for this?”

Learning Objectives:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Identify two or more strategies to launch a teaching kitchen by leveraging existing resources and reallocating internal funding.

2. List two or more philanthropic fundraising opportunities for building or expanding a teaching kitchen or its programs and how to leverage the media in these endeavors. 

3. Implement at least one media or marketing strategy to increase awareness and engagement with a teaching kitchen program.

Presenters:

Sian Cotton, PhD, Director, Osher Center for Integrative Health, University of Cincinnati

Olivia Thomas, MS, RD, Director of Nutrition Innovation and Implementation, Boston Medical Center

Nate Wood, MD, MHS, Chef, DABOM, Director of Culinary Medicine, Yale School of Medicine