Mission:  facilitate cross-sector collaboration and partnerships to address food, nutrition, and health issues in Arkansas.

Goal: a network of affiliates working cooperatively across sectors and disciplines to develop best practices, share  knowledge, and translate research into practice to build a healthy and thriving Natural State.

Across Arkansas many organizations are working to address food, nutrition, and health issues facing our communities. Yet, Arkansas continues to have high rates of obesity and other health disparities, chronic diseases, and food insecurity. Despite the prevalence of these problems there is little opportunity for organizations to come together and cooperatively address the challenges we face.

The Natural State Consortium for Food and Health (NSCFH) was formed to facilitate communication and coordination among public, private and non-profit organizations in tackling these challenges. Our goal is to build a network of affiliates to support the development of innovative approaches to improving the health and well-being of Arkansans.

Each year we host a symposium for our affiliate community to come together and share their experiences working on food, health, and nutrition issues in Arkansas. Symposium sessions will focus not only on the latest research on food, nutrition, and health, but also community partner presentations regarding their efforts translating food, nutrition, and health research into action – celebrating successful projects and sharing lessons learned from those that may not have gone as planned. Outside of sessions, affiliates have the opportunity to connect and collaborate on future projects in person. We hope participants return to their communities energized and equipped with the knowledge to develop successful programming.