Food for Life Classes Brought Plant-Based Nutrition to Nearly 19,000 People Worldwide in 2024

Last year, more than 400 Food for Life instructors and institutions in 21 countries taught more than 1,900 classes about the lifesaving power of a plant-based diet to nearly 19,000 participants.

Food for Life also added 97 new instructors, including eight doctors, five nurses, and four registered dietitians. In addition to new U.S. instructors, the program welcomed instructors from Bhutan, Chile, France, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, and the U.K.

“I’m so proud to be a part of Team PCRM as a licensed Food for Life instructor,” says Ali Wilhelm, a Food for Life instructor who graduated in 2024. “The time for change is now, and we can effect it together!”

Food for Life, which began with cancer prevention classes 24 years ago, now includes 23 courses demonstrating how a plant-based diet can help fight obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other conditions.

Recipe for Success

Food for Life reaches people of all ages and walks of life where they learn, work, and live, helping participants take charge of their health with the foods that are put on their plates.

In 2024, 91% of Food for Life participants surveyed indicated they would consume more plant foods as a result of joining Food for Life classes, and 92% of responding participants gave the class experience a top rating.

As a result of the changes they made to their diets because of the classes, Steph Goettge lost 70 pounds, reversed her diabetes, and ran a 10K race; Stephanie Durham cured her Barrett’s esophagus, a condition associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease, which can progress to cancer; and Dr. Massiel Nataly Myriam Félix Romo lost weight and improved her knee and hip pain.

Reaching New Audiences

In 2024, the program’s audience diversity grew 35%, thanks in part to scholarships for Food for Life training applicants, a new grant program for existing instructors, and new courses in French and Spanish.

Thirty-six scholarships were awarded across both 2024 trainings to applicants who committed to reaching underserved and marginalized audiences, including Kemeisha McKenzie, RN, who teaches classes in the United States, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands, and Ginny Martinez, from Puebla, Mexico, who teaches classes to community leaders in low-income areas who influence eating habits in their communities.

A new grant program also provides financial support to instructors who offer free classes that prioritize audiences disproportionately impacted by chronic disease. In the first several weeks of the program, eight instructors received grants, including Aifra Ruiz, in New York City, who taught Diabetes Initiative/Iniciativa Diabetes classes to Spanish speakers; Matthew Dempsey, in Meriden, Conn., who taught Kids’ Health classes to children from economically challenged backgrounds; and Charles Smith in Madison, Miss., who taught Kickstart Your Health to African Americans suffering high rates of poverty, lack of access to healthy fresh foods, and high rates of chronic disease.

Last year, the Food for Life program also added its first French-language curriculum, as well as French translations of several nutrition fact sheets. The program also continued to expand Spanish-language offerings, including adding the Let’s Beat Breast Cancer curriculum.

Learn more in the 2024 Food for Life Community Impact Report below.