Official Site of The State of New Jersey

Join OFSA for its third annual statewide conference, a signature event convening people, organizations and sectors dedicated to improving food security across the state now and well into the future. 

More than 400 changemakers attended the 2025 conference in person and online through our livestream, and we’re pleased to once again invite the multisector food security community for this “family reunion.” We also encourage new and cross-sector leaders near and far to learn, connect, and take action in their communities.

Our goals this year are to:

• Deepen understanding of food security across the life course.
• Explore the implications of HR1 for SNAP and Medicaid.
• Highlight the state’s progress on the Food Security Strategic Plan and implementation efforts.
• Spark opportunities for partnership, alignment, and coordinated action.
• Build new connections across sectors advancing food security in New Jersey.

This year’s conference comes at a pivotal moment for New Jersey’s food security movement. Since the 2025 conference, OFSA released the New Jersey Food Security Strategic Plan; launched the Implementation Planning Toolkit; opened the first call for NJ Commitments for Food Security; and awarded New Jersey’s first-ever grantee funds supporting statewide food security work and Strategic Plan implementation. 

These milestones reflect a shared effort in the sector to move from vision to action and to build a more coordinated, equitable, and resilient food system for all New Jerseyans.

Through plenary sessions cross-sector networking, attendees will explore what it takes to ensure that everyone in New Jersey can access adequate food now and in the future. Plus in response to feedback from last year’s attendees the Conference 2026 format will feature breakout conversations to foster shared curiosity and learning that lifts up the wisdom in the room alongside the perspectives on the main stage.

The conference is set to welcome* many outstanding, hard-working, and highly visible partners in our statewide food sector community, including:

• Speaker Craig J. Coughlin, with a Special Address (click here for the Speaker’s bio)
• Tobias Fox, Founder & Managing Director, Newark Science and Sustainability (SaS) (click here for his bio as Conference Co-Emcee)
• Heather Thompson, Executive Director, Table to Table (click here for her bio as Conference Co-Emcee)
• Dr. Stephen Cha, Commissioner,  New Jersey Department of Human Services
• Iris Jones, Assistant Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Health
• Atiya Weiss, Executive Director, the Burke Foundation
• Cathy Rowe, Executive Director, New Jersey Advocates for Aging Well
• Heather deJong, Director of Advancement and Engagement and Incoming Executive Director, Meals on Wheels of Ocean County
• Jake Farbman, Executive Director, Economic Mobility, NJ Council of County Colleges 

…and more.

Food security is not a simple issue at a single moment in time. It shapes and sustains every stage of life. From pregnancy and early childhood to school age, adulthood, and older adults, access to adequate, affordable, available and nourishing food shapes health, learning, dignity, independence, and long-term well-being.

This year, we’re pleased to present a dynamic set of plenary sessions, breakout panels, and cross-sector networking opportunities that feature the perspective of food security across the life course. Sessions will highlight existing needs and opportunities at different stages of life, including:

Click on each session name below to see the bios for our presenters. (Note: Some sessions are pending receipt of presenter bios.)

• Food Security in the First 1,000 Days: Building Partnerships for Community & Care 
• Catalyzing Classrooms: Helping K-12 Families Make the Grade in Becoming Food Secure
• Food Insecurity in Higher Education: Enhancing Campus & Community Ecosystems  
• Closing the Gap for Older Adult Food Access

…and more.

These sessions will reflect on how a life course approach can help the sector design data informed, more responsive programs and strategies that honor lived and living expertise across our state. The sessions will also reinforce that food security is about so much more than food; it is about health, opportunity, and the conditions that allow people to thrive.

A featured lunchtime session with New Jersey Department of Human Services Commissioner Dr. Stephen Cha will address HR1 and its implications for SNAP and Medicaid/NJ FamilyCare, with a focus on how policy changes affect food access, health, stability, and individual, household, and community well-being.

As New Jersey continues to strengthen systems that support food security, it is essential to understand how federal actions affect the people and programs at the center of this work. This session will offer timely context, practical insight, and space to discuss how partners can respond, adapt, and advocate for New Jersey’s residents in ways that preserve access to food and health care.

See Commissioner Cha’s Bio here.

The 2026 conference marks an important moment for OFSA and the statewide food security movement. Since last year’s gathering, OFSA released the New Jersey Food Security Strategic Plan, a three-year framework for coordinated, cross-sector action.

Conference programming will highlight several milestones by way of OFSA, including:

• The release of the New Jersey Food Security Strategic Plan.
• The release of the Strategic Plan Implementation Planning Toolkit.
• The inaugural call for NJ Commitments for Food Security.
• The first round of grantee funds and initiatives supporting Strategic Plan-aligned work.

These milestones are all part of OFSA’s efforts to move from shared planning to implementation, and from commitment to coordinated action. The Conference will offer an overview of the Strategic Plan, showcase momentum through tools, research, and funding, and celebrate the partners helping turn these statewide goals and focus areas into local impact.