FEEDING MATTERS, INC.

Our vision: A world in which children with pediatric feeding disorder will thrive.

Our mission: Furthering advances in pediatric feeding disorder by accelerating identification, igniting research, and promoting collaborative care for children and families.

Feeding Matters is uniting families, healthcare professionals, and the broader community to improve the system of care for children with PFD through advocacy, education, support, and research.

Advocacy & Awareness – Build awareness for PFD so that pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) becomes a recognized household name in Arizona, across the US and globally. Grow a network of advocates, including respected clinicians, researchers, caregivers, educators, healthcare professionals, and more to influence public policy and facilitate change to improve the lives of children with pediatric feeding disorder.

Education – Build a workforce of qualified professionals to evaluate and treat pediatric feeding disorder. We do this by providing education that results in better care, improved health outcomes, and enhanced early intervention.

Parent Support – Empower parents and caregivers of children with pediatric feeding disorder through a virtual community, parent to parent coaching, financial resources, and educational tools.

Research – Ignite research by promoting collaborations, seed funding, access to patients, and facilitation of expert consensus.

Feeding Matters is uniting the concerns of families with the field’s leading advocates, experts, and allied healthcare professionals to improve the system of care for PFD.

For these children, eating, drinking, and swallowing are painful and frightening – ultimately affecting their behavioral, physical, and emotional development. Yet, there is no functional system of care for PFD locally, nationally, or internationally.

Feeding Matters has earned the reputation of a respected industry leader with a qualified team of experts that unites families and the healthcare community. The organization’s standing is the driving force behind notable improvements to the system of care for PFD which include, The Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition’s (JPGN) publication of the groundbreaking consensus paper “Pediatric Feeding Disorder—Consensus Definition and Conceptual Framework,” the continued growth and success of the International PFD Conference, and the launch of the PFD Alliance. Feeding Matters’ ongoing success has spurred a seismic swell of promising prospects for future advancements.

Feeding Matters undergoes annual strategic planning, including the theory of change and lean innovation practices, and evaluates the abundance of opportunities for the strategic fits that best utilize the organization’s resources and capacity while aligning with its vision, mission, and values. These practices work in unison, allowing Feeding Matters to acknowledge reality, find solutions, and adjust and pivot as needed – maintaining a consistent strategy for effective social impact.

Feeding Matters continues to make tremendous progress in education, advocacy, family support and research for the pediatric feeding community since its inauguration in 2006. The
past five years have been a period of unprecedented advancement for Feeding Matters as a leader in family and professional advocacy.

Key international initiatives achieved within the past five years include: facilitation of the 2019 JPGN publication defining pediatric feeding disorder by aligning over 19 experts worldwide; publication of a national study in the 2020 Journal of Pediatrics reporting the prevalence of pediatric feeding disorder (PFD); securement of a stand-alone diagnostic code (R code) for PFD to be included in the next edition of the International Classification of Diseases on October 1, 2021 through advocacy actions and alignment of national organizations; publication of the 2019 Economic Impact Report outlining the financial burden of PFD on insured families; coordination, funding and facilitation of the 2020 Journal of Pediatrics publication delineating six Infant Child Feeding Questionnaire responses as differentiating children with PFD; publication of the Infant Child Feeding Questionnaire as a Screener Tool Rack Card for early identification of PFD; and publication of the Family Guide to Pediatric Feeding Disorder, the first nationally or internationally available comprehensive resource for families navigating PFD.

Additional successes include the following: growth from four volunteers to seven staff positions; 75 attendees at first International Pediatric Feeding Disorder Conference–over 600 in 2019; 200 attendees at first signature fundraising luncheon–690 in 2019; served 44 individuals during the first year–served over 140,000 in 2019; began with two Power of Two mentors–128 mentors in 2019; Outreach began in Arizona only- reach is now across all 50 states and 143 countries; PFD Alliance membership was launched with a single member in 2019- in 2020 the Alliance has 360 members.