04/24/2026
Last week, VCHA was proud to bring stakeholders from around Virginia together for an important discussion on the intersection of nutrition and health: the Food As Medicine Summit.
The Summit began with a visit to Greenswell Growers, a Richmond-area indoor growing facility dedicated to large-scale hydroponic farming of lettuce and greens. Summit attendees spoke with Greenswell CEO Carl Gupton and toured the facility with Head Grower Gus Brennan, learning more about hydroponic processes and impact.
Attendees then returned to VCHA for presentations, hearing from:
Dr. Kofi Essel, Food as Medicine Director at Elevance Health
Eddie Oliver, Executive Director of Federation of Virginia Food Banks
Maria Bowman, Director of Health Initiatives at Blue Ridge Area Food Bank
Adrienne Harden, RDN, VCHA's Community Health Center Nutritionist who leads VCHA's Food as Medicine program
Throughout the afternoon, the group discussed the role of nutrition in healthcare and identified opportunities for collaboration across community health centers, managed care partners, and food banks.
Thank you to our partners for bringing their insights and energy to this incredibly important conversation, of which this Summit was just the beginning. We look forward to further developing this collaboration as we work to grow our Food as Medicine initiatives across Virginia 💚
