Michel Nischan is a four-time James Beard Award winning chef with over 35 years of leadership advocating for a more healthful, sustainable food system. He is Founder and President of Wholesome Crave, a food company selling responsibly sourced, plant-forward soups to large-scale dining facilities, and now available direct-to-consumer. A portion of the gross sales from Wholesome Crave products benefit Wholesome Wave, the non-profit food equity organization for which Michel serves as Co-Founder and Executive Chairman. He is also Co-Founder of the James Beard Foundation’s Chefs Boot Camps for Policy and Change, as well as Founder and Partner with the late actor Paul Newman in the former Dressing Room Restaurant.

Nischan and his Wholesome Wave partner, the late USDA Under-Secretary Gus Schumacher, were instrumental in securing legislation supporting $100M for Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) grants for the food equity field in the 2014 Federal Farm Bill. The FINI program was recently expanded to $250M in the 2018 Farm Bill to become a permanent part of all future farm bills. The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) permanently expands affordable access to fruits and vegetables for low-income Americans, while creating a legacy for Gus and the organization he and Michel created.

Michel is the author of three cookbooks on healthful and sustainable food, and an active thought leader advocating for the right of all in America to exercise their right to feed themselves and their families well, regardless of race, ethnicity, income, or economic condition.

To learn more about Chef Nischan, follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.