Feeding disorder treatment affects millions of children and families, yet the field has never had unified ethical standards guiding how care should be delivered.
The Center for Feeding Ethics, launched by Feeding Matters in collaboration with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, is a national initiative dedicated to exploring ethical challenges in feeding disorder care and developing guidance to ensure treatment is safe, compassionate, and grounded in best practices.
The Center was born from the growing calls within the field to acknowledge historical harms and integrate lived experience into research, training, and care models for the advancement of feeding outcomes. As trauma-informed care continues to reshape health care, the Center will further prioritize the lived experience while utilizing clinical and system change expertise to reform how care is delivered.
Why This Work Matters
Pediatric feeding disorders are more common than many realize.
- 1 in 23 children under age five has pediatric feeding disorder (PFD)
- Up to 1 in 6 individuals experience avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID)
- Families often wait 12 months or longer for specialized feeding treatment
Despite this prevalence, there are currently:
- No unified ethical guidelines across disciplines to guide the provision of feeding care.
- No standardized training pathways for clinicians seeking competency in feeding disorder assessment and management.
- Limited opportunities for lived experience perspectives to shape care models and research design.
The Center for Feeding Ethics seeks to address these gaps.
What the Center Will Do
The Center will serve as a national home for advancing ethical feeding care by:
Developing Ethical Guidance for Care
Working across disciplines to define ethical standards for feeding disorder treatment.
Examining Care Practices
Evaluating the benefits and limitations of current care pathways to help eliminate innefective and/or harmful practices.
Elevating Lived Experience
Integrating patient and family voices into research, training, and care models.
Building Consensus
Bringing together clinicians, researchers, and advocates to guide the future of feeding care.
Promoting Compassionate Care
Encouraging treatment approaches that are trauma-informed, respectful, patient and family-centered, and evidence-based.
Building the Future of Ethical Feeding Care
The science of feeding disorders continues to evolve.
Our ethical standards must evolve with it.
The Center for Feeding Ethics exists to ensure children and families receive care that is not only effective—but also safe, compassionate, and respectful.
A Collaborative Effort
The Center for Feeding Ethics brings together expertise in clinical care, research, advocacy, and lived experience.The initiative was developed through collaboration between:
Feeding Matters
A global leader advancing system-wide change for children and families navigating pediatric feeding disorders.
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Home to one of the country’s leading multidisciplinary feeding programs serving children with PFD and ARFID.
Co-Chairs:
Jaclyn Pederson, MHI
William Sharp, PhD
Co-Principal Investigators:
Cuyler Romeo, MOT, OTR/L, SCFES, IBCLC
Hayley Estrem, PhD, RN
Together, these organizations are working to build a more ethical future for feeding care.
Get Involved
The Center for Feeding Ethics will engage clinicians, researchers, individuals with lived experience, and advocates in shaping the future of ethical feeding care.
In 2026, the Center will begin gathering insights from across the field to help develop foundational ethical guidelines and guide future initiatives.
If you are interested in contributing to this work, we invite you to share your interest.
By completing the form, you will:
- Receive communication about the Center’s progress.
- Learn about opportunities to contribute to Center actions.
- Be notified of opportunities to participate in future discussions and working groups.