A fireside chat on food is medicine · Nantucket

Food is Medicine: What to Eat, Why It Matters, and How to Build Our Food Future

What if the most powerful medicine on earth is already on your plate?

A hopeful shift is underway in American healthcare: the right foods can do more than prevent illness — they can treat it. Spend an evening with cardiologist and Food is Medicine pioneer Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian on the science, and the future, of food is medicine.

Get Tickets Pre-order the Book

Date

Tue, Aug 4, 2026

Fireside Chat

6:00 – 7:00 PM

Reception

7:00 – 8:30 PM

Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian

Cardiologist & Director, Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University

Dr. Joseph Betancourt

President & CEO, The Commonwealth Fund

The Evening

The next great medical breakthrough will come from a farm.

Reserve Your Seat

Food has always shaped our health — what's new is how directly we're starting to use it as care. Across the country, doctors are prescribing produce instead of pills, insurers are covering medically tailored meals the way they'd cover a prescription, and grocery stores are becoming partners in treatment, not just places to shop. It's called Food is Medicine, and it's changing what healing can look like.

About Fresh and Process First are bringing that conversation to Nantucket Dreamland, where Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian and Dr. Joe Betancourt will talk about where this movement is headed — and how to make sure it reaches everyone who needs it, not just the few who can afford it. Expect big ideas, practical solutions, and a straight line to work already underway on the island.

Every ticket gives back. A portion of every ticket goes directly to Pip & Anchor's Send It Box, delivering locally sourced food to Nantucket households in need.

In Conversation

Two leaders shaping the future of food and health

Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian

Director, Food is Medicine Institute, Tufts University

Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian is a cardiologist, public health expert, and one of the world's foremost authorities on food and health. He serves as Distinguished Professor, Dean Emeritus, and Jean Mayer Professor, and remains clinically active in cardiology at Tufts Medical Center.

He has authored more than 650 scientific publications, shaped national and global food policy, and been named one of the World's Most Influential Scientific Minds by Thomson Reuters. His first book, Food Is Medicine, publishes with Holt (Macmillan) in October 2026.

Dr. Joseph Betancourt

President & CEO, The Commonwealth Fund

Dr. Joseph R. Betancourt is a national leader in healthcare policy, equity, quality, and community health. He previously served as senior vice president for Equity and Community Health at Massachusetts General Hospital and as founding director of the Disparities Solutions Center.

An author of nearly 90 peer-reviewed articles, he has served on several Institute of Medicine committees and is an Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellow. In 2024, Modern Healthcare named him one of the "Top 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare."

Date

Tue, Aug 4, 2026

Fireside Chat

6:00 – 7:00 PM

$40

Reception

7:00 – 8:30 PM

$50

Venue

Dreamland Theatre

17 S Water St, Nantucket

Seating is intimate and limited. The fireside chat and reception are ticketed separately — attend either, or make a night of both.

Get Tickets

The Schedule

An evening in two acts

Begin with the fireside chat, then keep the conversation going over food and cocktails at an intimate reception with the speakers.

6:00 – 7:00 PM

The Fireside Chat

Dreamland Theatre · 200 seats

Sixty minutes on where food and medicine meet — the science, and what it takes to bring it to everyone. Open to all ticket holders.

Get Fireside Tickets

7:00 – 9:00 PM

Reception

Intimate · Limited to 50–75 guests

Food, drinks, and good company overlooking the harbor — connect with the speakers, About Fresh, Process First, and the Nantucket community. Requires a separate ticket.

RSVP for the Reception

Book cover of Food Is Medicine by Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH — Healing Our Bodies, Nourishing Our Minds, and Transforming Our Food System

Now available for pre-order · October 2026

The book behind the evening

In his first book, Dr. Mozaffarian lays out a bold vision for a 21st-century food system — one that heals, nourishes, and reaches everyone, without sacrificing convenience or the pleasure of eating well. He traces how our food system lost its way, and introduces the people already building what comes next.

Pre-orders matter for a first book — they signal demand to booksellers and help carry the message further. Reserve your copy today; it arrives this October.

Pre-order Now

Hosts & Partners

Hosted by About Fresh and Process First

Hosted by About Fresh and Process First, with key partners Pip & Anchor, John Hancock, the Tufts Food is Medicine Institute, and The Commonwealth Fund — organizations working to make nutritious food a foundation of health. Held at the Nantucket Dreamland Theatre.

Reception presented by

Your Ticket Gives Back

Every ticket feeds a neighbor

A portion of every ticket goes directly to Pip & Anchor's Send It Box — delivering weekly boxes of locally grown produce, fresh proteins, and pantry staples to food-insecure households across Nantucket, at no cost to families for as long as support is needed.

It's Food is Medicine in action, right here on the island.

Supporting

families served weekly

292

island neighbors reached

100%

locally & regionally sourced

Tuesday, August 4, 2026 · Nantucket Dreamland Theatre

One night that could change how you think about food

One evening, two of the leaders reshaping American health — and a room small enough to ask them your questions. Fireside chat 6–7 PM, reception 7–8:30 PM. Seats are limited — reserve yours and pre-order the book today.

Get Tickets Pre-order the Book