Chef Michel
As the son of displaced farmers, Michel Nischan, CEO, Founder and President of Wholesome Wave, grew up with a great appreciation and respect for local agriculture and those who work the land. He translated these childhood values into a career as a James Beard Award-winning chef, author and restaurateur, becoming a catalyst for change in the sustainable food movement.
Nischan founded Wholesome Wave to address the problem of making locally grown foods, which do not benefit from agriculture subsidies or economies of scale, affordable in low‐income communities by implementing incentive programs. In his ultimate vision, overhauled community food systems can transform underserved communities into “local living economies” that echo the farming communities he remembers from his youth.
Now active in over 27 states and 250 markets, Wholesome Wave works to provide federal food assistance benefit recipients the opportunity and incentive to shop at farmers markets where they can purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables. The intention is that these programs foster linkages between farmers and those in need by demonstrating significant demand for healthful, locally grown foods in America's underinvested communities.