Dear friends,

Over the past year, I’ve shared updates about the Person and Family-Centered Feeding Research Consortium—a group of parents and individuals with lived experience working alongside clinicians and researchers to shape the future of feeding research.

Today, I’m excited to share an important milestone: their work has now been published in The Journal of Pediatrics.

Together, the consortium identified seven priority research questions to guide future research on pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). These questions are centered on what families say matters most: caregiver support, improved access to care, and clearer best practices. Use this link to access the article for free through April 30, 2026.

Just as importantly, the conversations that emerged through this work helped catalyze another step forward for the field. As families shared their experiences navigating care, many raised critical questions about trauma and treatment approaches, highlighting the urgent need for ethical guidance in feeding care. These insights contributed to the recent launch of the Center for Feeding Ethics, a first-of-its-kind national initiative, in collaboration with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, dedicated to advancing compassionate, ethical, and trauma-informed approaches to feeding disorder treatment. Currently the Center is a systems change initiative, however we hope to grow into a physical research center in the future.

This is what progress looks like when lived experience leads the way.

We are deeply grateful to the families and individuals whose lived experiences shaped this work. Their willingness to share openly and contribute to this process is helping to build a more compassionate and responsive future for children and families.

The consortium continues to welcome new members and research collaborators, and we invite you to be part of the work ahead.

With gratitude,
Jaclyn Pederson, MHI
CEO