This event is sold out. We hope to see you next year.

Join Slow Food San Francisco for its first annual Childhood Obesity Bay Area Conference. The goal of the conference is to create a more complete understanding of the childhood obesity issue and its many contributing factors, including policy, structural violence, food prices, and accessibility. Attendees will gain new and diverse perspectives on the issue, which we hope will help to create a more effective model for change in their communities, and professions.

All individuals with interest in the issue, including professionals from the medical, nutritional and educational fields, and concerned parents and community organizers, are invited. Wide-ranging discussions will provide a more complete understanding of the issue, and food for thought on the challenges faced by individuals and different professions working to address the issue. 

The conference will include a keynote address from David Kessler, MD., and Alan Greene, M.D., speaker presentations, focused break out sessions, a healthy lunch donated by Whole Foods, a slam poetry performance, and a reception with food from Bi-Rite Market, and wine from Topel Winery. We will also have local organizations, county representatives, and local health based businesses there to exhibit their work.  

Speakers currently include: 

Alan Greene, M.D.- Founder DrGreene.com and WhiteOut, Author of "Feeding Baby Green"

David Kessler, M.D.- Former commissioner of the FDA, Author of "The End of Overeating" 

Chynna Bantug, M.D.- Chief of Pediatrics at Kaiser Permanente, San Jose

Lena Brook- SF Bay Area Physicians for Social Responsibility and SF School Food Coalition 

Kyle Cornforth- Director, The Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley 

Cindy Gershen- Founder, Contra Costa County Wellness City Challenge 

Arnell Hinkle- Executive Director, CANFIT (Community, Adolescents, Nutrition, Fitness)

Denise Jardine- Whole Foods Regional "Health Starts Here" Coordinator 

Paula Jones- San Francisco Department of Public Health, SF Food Systems, Shape up SF 

Donna Matheson- Senior Research Scientist, Stanford Prevention Research Center

Rebecca Prager- Berkeley Youth Alternatives HEAT program, speaking along with a young BYA garden intern

Break out sessions will be lead by community leaders in their fields, and will focus on five topics: 

Senator Mark Leno (Policy)- 3rd district, Select Committee for Childhood Obesity and Related Diabetes
Padmaja Padalkar, M.D. (Medicine)- Assistant Chief of Pediatrics and Pediatric Overweight Champion, Kaiser Permanente, San Jose
Lucrecia Farfan-Ramirez (Community Outreach/Food Justice)- Alameda County Director of Community Health, Nutrition and Youth Nutrition. Co-facilitating with Arnell Hinkle.
Colleen Kavanagh (School Lunch)- Executive Director of Campaign for Better Nutrition, and San Francisco Student Nutrition and Physical Activity Committee
Christina Goette (Physical Activity)- Director, Shape Up SF

The conference will take place from 10am - 4:30 pm, and tickets are $100. Registration will begin at 9:40am on Saturday morning. We are also offering a limited set of teacher and student tickets for $80.

A percentage of both tickets prices are tax deductible.