Mission & Vision
CHIFAN was founded with the goal of providing nutrition knowledge to NYC youth that is cognizant of the diverse cultural backgrounds they come from. Through a team of dedicated volunteers, lasting community partnerships, and collaboration with NYC public schools, we strive to deliver exceptional quality nutrition education to empower kids from underrepresented communities with their food, their culture, and their stories.
By delivering culturally relevant nutrition education, we hope to foster everlasting appreciation and celebration of the cultures, heritages, and identities that shape our communities through the lens of food and nutrition.
Our Story
As a Registered Dietitian with a minority background, Danying strongly believes food is inextricably linked to nutrition; however, knowing food from different perspectives can also empower one’s identity. CHIFAN was founded by two Columbia University Institute of Human Nutrition (IHN) alumni, Danying Li and Eric Wang, and a passionate designer, Chumin Wu. With a shared vision for promoting culturally relevant nutrition education, it was started as an alumni project under the Columbia University IHN in 2022.
As the team rapidly grew from three members into a dedicated group of 20 volunteers over two years, they decided to register as a non-profit organization and obtain 501c3 status, which was granted in October of 2024.
